fTHEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  | 
I  Princeton,  N.  J.  f 


Si^:Sk'^  -«*5^«e<^ 


From  the  PUBLISHER. 


BV  4935  .H68  P57  1847 
Pitcairn,  David,  d.l870. 
Perfect  peace 


PERFECT  PEACE 


LETTERS-MEMORIAL 

OF  THE  LATE 

JOHN  WARREN  HOWELL,  ESQ, 

OF  BATH,  M.B.C.S. 


BY  y^ 

THE   REV.    DAVID   PITCAIRN; 

MINISTER   OF  EVIE   AND    KENDALL. 

W^\X^  an  JfTttr^lruction, 

BY    THE 

REV.   JOHN    STEVENSON, 

Author  of  "  Christ  oa  the  Cross." 


FHOM    THE    NINTH   LONDON    EDITION. 


NEW-YORK : 

ROBERT  CARTER,  58  CANAL-STREET. 

PITTSBURG  :  56  MARKET-STREET. 

1847. 


ADVERTISEMENT 
TOTHE    FIFTH    EDITION 


It  was  only  in  April  last  year  that  this  little  volume 
first  appeared.  Already  eight  thousand  copies  have 
been  sold.  Many  most  interesting  proofs  of  its  use- 
fulness have  reached  the  ears,  and  gladdened  the  heart, 
of  the  author.  And  although  the  price  is  so  small, 
the  great  extent  of  the  sale  has  secured  a  considerable 
pecuniary  benefit  to  Mrs.  Howell  and  her  children. 

The  objects  for  which  the  publication  was  underta- 
ken have  thus,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  been  accom- 
plished with  a  rapidity,  and  to  an  amount  of  success, 
far  surpassing  the  most  sanguine  anticipations. 

In  issuing  a  new  edition,  the  author  feels  himself 
under  a  strong  and  pleasing  obligation,  to  express  his 
deep  gratitude,  not  only  to  the  many  kind  friends  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  who  have  interested 
themselves  in  promoting  the  circulation  of  the  book, 
but  especially  to  Him  who  overrules  all  events  for  His 
own  glory,  and  who  has  so  strikingly,  in  this  case, 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

given  testimony  to  the  faithfulness  of  His  word  :  "  The 
Lord  preservetii  the  stranger  ;  He  relieveth  the  fa- 
therless and  widow."  (Psalm  cxlvi.  9.) 

Attempts  are  at  present  being  made  to  select  and 
arrange  such  portions  of  the  valuable  documents  Mr. 
Howell  left  behind  him,  as  may  seem  best  adapted  for 
general  reading.  And  it  is  hoped  that  many  of  those 
who  have  perused  with  pleasure  or  profit  the  "  Letters- 
Memorial"  of  his  premature  but  peaceful  death,  will 
gladly  hail  the  announcement  of  a  volume  of  his  lite- 
rary and  scientific  remains. 

Torquay,  April,  1845. 


INTRODUCTION 


REV.    J.     STEVENSON 


Every  living  man  is  interested  in  the  ex- 
perience of  the  dying.  It  is  the  last  school 
of  wisdom  to  which  the  children  of  men  can 
be  advanced.  Some,  indeed,  may  question 
what  concern  they  have  with  every  sable 
narrative,  and  it  is  true  they  may  not  now 
feel  that  they  are  affected  by  it.  Neverthe- 
less here  lies  their  interest :  Are  they  not 
travellers  upon  the  sa,me  road  ?  Is  not  the 
velocity  of  time  hurrying  them  onward  to 
the  same  terminus  ?  And  shall  we  shut  our 
eyes  upon  the  experience  of  others,  and  bar 
the  inlet  of  wisdom  till  we  be  ourselves  de- 
stroyed ?  The  reckless  navigator  may  deem 
his  own  sagacity  a  safer  guide  than  all  the 
charts  of  older  mariners,  and  with  unfurled 
1* 


6  INTRODUCTION 

sail  he  may  explore  the  half-known  coasts 
of  distant  lands,  but  it  may  only  be  to  make 
a  first  and  last  discovery  of  his  own  folly 
upon  the  rock  which  they  would  have  taught 
him  to  avoid. 

"Nil  humanum  a  me  alienum puto,"  was 
the  noble  sentiment  of  a  heathen  philoso- 
pher. The  lover  of  wisdom  puts  nothing 
from  him  that  concerns  his  kind.  He  feels 
himself  linked  to  every  form  of  man  by  the 
tie  of  a  common  nature,  and  he  treasures  up 
the  lessons  of  their  experience  as  sources  of 
instruction  to  direct  his  own.  This  is  but 
common  prudence.  We  all  act  upon  it  for 
life,  and  why  not  also  for  death  ?  It  is  wis- 
dom for  a  man's  self  Who  is  there  that 
does  not  practise  it  in  his  own  department  ? 

The  Merchant  fails  not  to  inquire  in  what 
quarter  of  the  globe  men  make  their  great- 
est gains,  nor  is  he  slow  to  mark  that  spe- 
cies of  merchandise  which  has  proved  most 
lucrative.  The  Lawyer  studies  every  case 
that  bears  analogy  to  that  of  his  client,  and 
makes  himself  familiar  with  the  long  list  of 
precedents.  The  evidence  which  they  fur- 
nish he  will  canvass,  and  avail  himself  of 
the  successful  pleas  which  they  have  urged. 
So  likewise  the  Physician,  the  Statesman, 
the  Leaders  of  armies  or  of  navies,  are  all 
wise  in  their  generation.     They  allow  no 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  STEVENSON.  7 

thing  to  pass  unnoticed  which  can  contrihute 
to  their  private  good  or  the  general  benefit. 
It  would  be  their  folly  if  they  did.  The 
temple  of  wisdom  is  supported  by  the  pillars 
of  experience.  Every  discovery  in  science, 
every  new  specimen  of  art,  every  fresh  ad- 
vance in  knowledge,  is  of  importance  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  globe. 

Of  all  the  objects  of  interest  which  this 
attractive  world  presents,  none  can  equal 
that  of  a  peaceful  death-bed.  xin  echpse  of 
the  solar  orb  attracts  the  attention  of  all  who 
are  dependent  on  its  light.  The  birth  of  an 
mfant  awakens  emotions  in  the  breast  of 
every  one  that  is  connected  with  its  family. 
But — the  departure  of  a  man — the  eclipse 
of  a  fellow-mortal — the  labour  of  his  birth 
into  eternity,  should  exceed  them  all  in  its 
thrilling  interest  to  his  fellows.  No  man 
ought  to  be  insensible  to  its  appeal.  We 
know  that  we  must  follow  him.  We  see 
ourselves,  as  it  were,  represented  in  him. 
His  very  sickness  may  be  ours.  The  pain 
he  feels,  or  the  comforts  he  enjoys,  may  be 
ours  also.  We  long,  therefore,  to  know 
what  are  the  feelings  which  his  situation 
awakens.  If  calm  and  peaceful,  we  wish 
to  ascertain  by  what  means  they  became  so ; 
and  we  see  it  to  be  our  wisdom,  our  duty,  and 
our  happiness,  so  to  adopt  the  same  means. 


8  INTRODUCTION 

that  when  we  reach  the  same  verge  we  may- 
enjoy  the  same  consolation. 

To  meet  this  wish  is  the  design  of  the  ex- 
cellent author  of  the  following  letters.  To 
prepare  the  living  for  death,  by  these  details 
of  the  experience  of  the  dying,  is  the  object 
of  their  publication.  It  is  a  spiritual  study 
which  is  here  set  before  us.  The  rise  and 
progress  of  a  soul  heavenward  is  here  de- 
scribed. In  the  brief  space  of  a  few  weeks, 
a  "pilgrim's  progress"  from  the  city  of 
destruction  to  the  Zion  of  God  is  strikingly 
delineated.  An  experienced  minister  of 
Christ  is  here  perceived  guiding  an  immor- 
tal spirit  on  the  way  to  everlasting  happi- 
ness. It  is  a  deeply  interesting  sight.  The 
spiritual  physician  is  called  in  to  administer 
the  medicine  of  eternal  health.  Stretched 
on  his  dying  bed,  lies  a  healer  of  the  body : 
himself  past  healing ;  and  the  only  inquiry 
that  bursts  from  his  lips  is  this,  "What  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved?" 

Of  all  death-beds,  that  of  the  medical  man 
is  one  of  the  most  painfully  interesting.  He 
who  has  grappled  with  the  king  of  terrors 
to  rescue  his  fellow-men,  he  who  has  been 
used  by  Providence  to  deliver  others,  is  now 
seized  himself  His  very  profession  teaches 
him  at  once  to  recognise  the  grasp  of  Death. 
He  knows  the  ten  thousand  turnings  of  dis- 


BY  THE  REV.  J.   STEVENSON.  9 

case.  He  feels  not  only  what  it  is,  but  what 
it  Avill  be.  He  can  foresee  its  course,  the 
stages  of  its  progress,  and  the  symptoms  of 
its  advance.  He  can  calculate  the  various 
vibrations  of  the  pulse,  and  fix  his  eye  on 
the  diseased  mechanism  within.  The  ul- 
cerated lung,  the  ossifying  heart,  the  inter- 
nal cancer,  are  all  as  palpably  before  his 
mental  vision  as  are  the  bleeding  wound 
and  the  fractured  limb  to  the  eye  of  the  com- 
mon observer.  He  understands  alike  the 
power  and  the  impotence  of  medicines. 
Surely,  if  a  case  could  be  where  ignorance 
were  bliss,  it  must  be  to  know  nothing  of 
anatomy  on  a  sick-bed,  and  to  be  then  un- 
read in  the  great  pharmacopoeia  of  unavail- 
able medicines.  To  have  long  prescribed 
for  others,  and  at  last  to  find  nothing  to  pre- 
scribe for  one's  self,  is  a  position  of  pecuUar 
trial,  demanding  the  strongest  sympathy. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  the  subject  of 
the  ensuing  memorial.  Mr.  Howell  was  a 
rising  man  in  the  medical  profession, — a 
profession  requiring  no  little  share  of  native 
talent,  and  of  laborious  research.  In  each 
of  these  he  excelled.  He  is  described  by 
competent  judges  as  a  man  of  no  ordinary 
stamp.  His  intellectual  powers  were  of  the 
highest  order,  and  he  had  long  been  distin- 
guished for   the  most  patient,   persevering 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

study.  These  studies  and  powers  had  heeii 
directed  to  a  profession  which  required  him 
to  be  scrupulously  exact  in  every  thing  that 
affected  the  well-being  of  man.  He  Avas 
accustomed  to  deal  with  realities.  He  could 
discriminate  between  the  real  and  the  appa- 
rent properties  of  things ;  and  was  not  like- 
ly, therefore,  to  be  easily  deceived,  or  misled 
by  false  premises  or  specious  arguments. 
The  quality  of  his  mind  was  "reflective, 
not  demonstrative;"  we  maybe  therefore 
sure  that  every  statement  made  to  him, 
every  truth  propounded,  would  be  maturely 
weighed  and  fully  tested,  ere  utterance  would 
be  given  to  his  accordance  with  it. 

Besides,  Mr.  Howell  is  declared  to  be  a 
man  of  such  integrity  and  truthfulness,  that 
the  fullest  confidence  might  be  reposed  in 
the  sincerity  of  every  statement  which  he 
made.  The  truth  of  this  abundantly  ap- 
pears in  the  following  Memorial. 

The  contemplation,  then,  of  the  spiritual 
experience  of  such  a  character  is  highly  sa- 
tisfactory ;  and,  were  it  at  all  needful,  a  sim- 
ilar testimony  might  be  borne  to  the  Chris- 
tian fidelity  of  the  narrator,  by  whom,  we 
know,  that  the  exactest  shade  and  colouring 
would  be  given  to  every  interview  which 
words  are  capable  of  imparting. 

In  the  opening  letter,  Mr.  Howell  is  pre- 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  STEVENSON.  11 

sen  ted  before  us  as  "peculiarly  standing  in 
need  of  spiritual  counsel  and  encourage- 
ment." But  what  occasion  was  there? 
His  age  and  prospects  fair,  his  wife  and 
family  presented  strong  arguments,  indeed, 
for  love  to  life.  But  it  was  not  to  love  life  that 
he  sought  encouragement, — it  was  express- 
ly to  meet  with  death.  And  why  a  man,  so 
free  from  vice,  so  virtuous  and  amiable,  who 
had  spent  his  time  so  honourably  to  himself 
and  so  usefully  to  others,  should  shrink  more 
than  our  nature  doth  at  the  approach  of 
death,  the  world  can  see  no  reason  !  Were 
he  wanting  in  common  fortitude,  or  did 
some  secret  sin  against  a  fellow-creature  lie 
heavy  on  his  conscience,  the  fact  would  be 
explained.  But  these  existed  not.  So  far 
as  man  can  judge,  Mr.  Howell  possessed  in- 
vincible fortitude,  and  a  reputation  unblem- 
ished and  unimpeachable.  What,  then, 
occasioned  his  depression  7  It  was  this  : 
— Mr.  Howell  had  begun  to  reckon,  that 
though  he  had  not  sinned  in  the  sight  of 
men,  he  had  sinned  before  God.  He  felt 
that  he  had  neither  loved  nor  served  his 
Maker  as  he  ought;  and  therefore  the  pros- 
pect of  soon  being  ushered  into  his  holy  pre- 
sence filled  him  with  dismay. 

Like  most  other  men,  Mr.  Howell,  in  the 
days  of  health,  had  chiefly  looked  to  one  side 


12  INTRODUCTION 

of  his  account,  and  was  "well  satisfied  witn 
himself"  when  he  thought  he  had  discnarg- 
ed  the  duties  which  he  owed  to  his  feliow- 
men.  But  what  does  it  avail  the  prisoner, 
when  tried  on  two  indictments,  to  plead  al- 
ways his  innocency  as  to  the  second,  and  pay 
no  regard  to  the  accus  tion  of  the  first? 
Now  man  is  such  a  prisoner,  against  whom 
a  double  indictment  is  made  out ;  and,  either 
in  this  world  or  in  the  next,  he  must  give  in 
his  pleading  to  them  both.  "Thou  hast 
sinned  against  thy  God,"  and  "Thou  hast 
sinned  against  thy  neighbour,"  is  the  two- 
fold charge  which  the  Scriptures  record 
against  every  human  being.  To  the  due 
consideration  of  the  first  charge,  men  seldom 
or  never  apply  themselves.  In  general,  it  is 
deemed  quite  enough  to  show  that  they  have 
not  flagrantly  violated  the  second.  How 
awfully  startled,  then,  must  such  persons  be 
when  death  approaches,  when  conscience 
awakens,  when  the  guilt  of  having  forgotten 
God  flashes  upon  their  minds,  and  when  the 
voice  of  the  unerring  Judge  seems  already 
to  condemn  them. 

Happy,  thrice  happy,  surely,  are  those 
who  are  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  con- 
sider the  charge  in  its  twofold  character,  and 
to  seek  for  an  advocate  before  it  be  too  late. 
Of  this  class  was  Mr.  Howell.     He  was  no 


BY  THE  REV.  J.   STEVENSON.  13 

longer  deceiving  himself.  He  had  begun 
honestly  to  consider  the  twofold  charge 
which  lay  Eigainst  him:  he  felt  that  he  was 
guilty,  and  he  knew  not  how  to  escape. 

To  a  man  in  such  circumstances,  how  joy- 
ful is  the  message  of  .the  minister  of  Christ ! — 
''An  advocate  is  already  appointed  for  you. 
Trust  in  him,  and  he  will  bring  your  case  to 
a  favourable  termination."  "But  what," 
may  the  desponding  prisoner  answer, — 
"what  can  he  do  for  me?  what  can  he  say 
on  my  behalf,  for  I  am  indeed  guilty?" 
•'This  advocate,"  the  messenger  of  God  can 
reply,  "has  shed  his  blood  to  take  away 
your  guilt,  and  he  has  lived  a  perfectly 
righteous  life  towards  God  and  man.  Of 
this  blood  and  of  this  righteousness  he  can 
plead,  as  your  surety,  that  you  may  enjoy 
the  benefit.  Do  you,  then,  place  yourself  in 
his  hands?"  "Who  is  he  that  I  may  do 
so?"  "He  is  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous, 
whose  name  is  Immanuel,  God  with  us.  He 
is  the  fellow  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  yet  he 
is  your  brother,  having  assumed  your  nature, 
and  become  bone  of  your  bone.  Love  to 
man  brought  him  from  the  realms  of  glory, 
and  now  he  is  ascended  up  on  high  to  plead 
for  every  one  that  believe th  in  him." 

Imagine  such  a  communication  on  un- 
doubted authority  to  be  made  to  a  prisoner 
2 


14  INTRODUCTION 

on  the  eve  of  trial.  Is  it  not  enough  to  trans- 
port him  with  joy?  Such  was  the  effect  of 
the  Gospel,  simply  and  energetically  stated, 
upon  Mr.  Howell.  The  glad  tidings  swal- 
lowed up  every  other  feeling.  "Grace  and 
peace  were  multiplied  unto  him  through  the 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  his 
Lord."  (2  Pet.  i.  2.)  And  so  long  as  his  at- 
tention remained  fixed  on  the  love  of  God  in 
Christ  towards  him.  he  continued  to  experi- 
ence the  same  exuberant  joy.  But,  after- 
wards, when  time  for  thought  elapsed,  this 
very  natural  consideration  arose  within  his 
mind,  "But  I  am  altogether  unworthy  of 
such  a  friend  as  this,  and  of  such  a  happi- 
ness as  I  now  enjoy."  We  say  this  was  a 
natural  reflection,  because,  as  we  estimate 
men  and  things  by  their  intrinsic  value,  we 
naturally  conclude  that  God  judges  by  the 
same  rule.  Though  we  rejoice,  therefore, 
when  we  consider  the  free  and  blessed  de- 
clarations of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  yet,  when 
we  begin  to  contemplate  our  own  un worthi- 
ness, our  joy  is  turned  into  mourning.  This 
arises  from  three  causes.  First,  imagining 
that  God  will  estimate  us  by  our  own  inhe- 
rent value;  second,  hoping  to  acquire  that 
value  in  his  sight ;  and  third,  inadequately  ap- 
prehending the  nature  of  that  Gospel  which 
has  made  us  glad.     To  remedy  these  errors, 


BY  THE  REV.  J.   STEVENSON.  15 

we  need  to  be  convinced  by  the  Word  and 
Spirit  of  God,  that  he  does  not,  and  will  not, 
estimate  man  by  his  personal  value,  or  wor- 
thiness, because  he  has  already  pronounced 
that  he  possesses  none.  This  judgment  of 
God  must  be  so  inwrought  into  our  judg- 
ment as  to  destroy  the  hope  of  our  ever  being 
able  to  possess  any  merit  in  his  sight,  and 
then,  from  this  utter  prostration  of  our  hopes 
and  of  our  own  righteousness,  we  must  flee 
to  Him,  whom  God  has  graciously  provided 
to  be  the  Saviour  of  our  souls.  We  must  see 
that  when  God  could  not  accept  us  in  our 
own  name,  or  for  our  own  sake,  he  will  re- 
ceive us,  and  pardon  us,  and  sanctify  us,  in 
the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  his  own  Son. 
We  must  be  brought  to  believe  that  the  blood 
of  Jesus  expiates  our  sins  before  God,  which 
even  our  own  blood  could  not  have  done; 
and  also  to  believe  that  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  is  as  freely  offered  to  us  and  is  as  fully 
available  for  us,  as  if  we  ourselves  had  lived 
his  righteous  life. 

Such  glad  tidings,  however,  as  the  Gospel 
brings,  appear  at  times  to  be  too  good  to  be 
true.  We  feel  as  though  we  could  not  be- 
lieve them  for  joy  !  "Can  such  a  creature 
as  I  am  hope  for  heaven?  Is  the  love  of 
God  so  great  and  so  gratuitous  that  it  can 
reach  to  me  ?    Is  it  really  true  that  the  Son 


16  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  Most  High  God  died  upon  a  cross  to 
save  my  soul  from  hell?"  Such  are  the 
thoughts  that  rise  upon  the  mind.  They  are 
the  natural  cogitations  of  the  heart.  It  does 
not  surprise  us,  then,  to  hear  a  similar  senti- 
ment from  the  mouth  of  Mr.  Howell.  On 
the  contrary,  we  regard  it  as  another  evi- 
dence of  that  scrupulous  sincerity  Avith  which 
he  watched  over  each  successive  step  of  his 
spiritual  progress.  There  v/-as  no  eager,  un- 
scrutinising,  haste;  not  a  single  point  was 
ever  taken  for  granted.  At  one  interview 
we  observe  that  the  bliss  of  heaven  formed 
the  captivating  subject  of  conversation.  The 
heart  of  the  instructor  was  enraptured  by  it. 
An  enthusiastic  hearer  would  have  appeared 
to  reciprocate  the  feeling  of  exultation ;  but 
not  so  the  subject  of  this  narrative.  "Mr. 
Howell  looked  grave.  At  last  he  remarked 
that  he  admitted  the  truth  of  all  that  had 
been  advanced,  but  added,  after  some  hesi- 
tation, 'It  is  indeed  delightful  to  hear  about 
the  bliss  of  heaven  ;  and  my  own  reflections 
suggested  by  this  tract,  and  by  your  conver- 
sations, have  been  most  soothing  and  eleva- 
ting. At  the  same  time,  I  cannot  subdue  a 
continually  rising  idea  that  it  is  premature 
in  a  person  like  me  to  entertain  the  hope  of 
this  bliss.  All  my  former  pursuits  have  been 
so  exclusively  of  a  worldly  character,  and 


BY  THE  REV.  J.*  STEVENSON.  17 

my  whole  life  has  been  marked  by  such  for- 
getfulness  of  God,  and  indifference  to  the 
salvation  which  is  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  I  wish  for  your  opinion  whether  I  am 
not  deceiving  myself  in  this  matter.'  " 

Whence  did  this  new  feeling  originate'? 
Mr.  Howell  informs  us.  '-I  thought,"  he 
added,  "that  your  theory  of  salvation  was 
too  simple.  It  seems  too  easy  a  way  of  get- 
ting to  heaven.  He  thought  the  Gospel  too 
good  to  be  true.  Its  very  freeness  tempted 
him  to  disbelieve  it.  The  frankness  and  the 
generosity  of  the  love  of  God,  exhibited  in 
Christ,  are  so  beyond  the  thoughts  and  ways 
of  man  (Is.  Iv.  8.)  that  even  after  our  minds 
have  received  the  idea,  we  find  it  difficult  to 
retain  it.  Our  sins  appear  to  be  too  great  to 
be  so  easily  passed  by.  Oh,  unworthy- 
thought  !  Easily  passed  by  !  Look  to  Cal- 
^vary  !  See  the  beloved  Son  of  /3od,  bleed- 
ing, dying  on  the  cross  !  Say,  hadst  thou 
been  nailed  there  for  thine  own  sins,  wouldest 
thou  still  believe  that  they  were  easily  passed 
by  7  Ah,  no !  And  if  a  friend  will  give  his 
body  to  be  pierced  instead  of  thine,  are  thy 
sins  easily  passed  by?  Yea,  if  God  himself 
come  down,  and  suffer  in  thy  room,  wilt  thou 
still  say  that  thy  sins  are  easily  passed  by? 
Nay,  rather  let  us  more  exquisitely  feel  for 
the  sufferings  of  our  Friend  than  we  would  do 
2=M= 


18  INTRODUCTION 

for  our  own.  And  let  his  wounds  indelibly 
impress  two  grand  ideas  upon  our  hearts — the 
greatness  of  our  guilt  and  the  vastness  of  his 
love.  To  keep  these  two  continually  in 
mind- is  the  duty  of  every  Christian.  Yet 
we  cannot,  without  an  eifort,  keep  them 
botlr  equally  before  us.  Like  Peter,  who 
had  looked  simply  to  his  Lord,  and  thus  had 
walked  firmly  upon  the  water,  the  Christian, 
after  a  time,  looks  to  himself  and  to  the  bil- 
lows that  surround  him,  and  he  begins  to 
sink.  In  thinking  of  himself  and  of  his  own 
weakness,  Peter  forgot  his  Master,  and  his 
mighty  power.  So  did  Mr.  Howell  in  the 
Qase  before  us ;  and  so  do  all  Christians  in  the 
days  of  their  despondency.  They  think  of 
sin  till  they  lose  sight  of  that  atonement 
which  has  been  made  for  it.  They  think  of 
their  own  unrighteousness  till  they  forget 
that  Christ  is  of  God  made  righteousness 
■unto  them  (1  Cor.  i.  30.)  The  true  position 
of  every  disciple  is  this,  so  to  see  the  deep 
that  is  beneath  him  as  to  lose  all  confidence 
in  himself  and  so  to  see  the  Saviour  that  is 
near  him  as  to  lose  all  terror  of  the  billows. 
Christ  Jesus  has  freely  made  himself  our 
great  deliverer.  And  shall  we  complain  that 
his  work  is  too  gratuitous,  and  that  his  deli- 
verance is  too  complete '?  What  should  we 
feel  to  hear  the  soldiers  of  Prussia  say,  in  re- 


BY  THE  REV.  J.   STEVENSON.  19 

ference  to  Waterloo,  "It  was  too  easy  a  vic- 
tory?" Would  we  not  indignantly  reply, 
"So,  indeed,  it  was  to  you!  Our  generai 
bore  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day.  He 
gained  a  hard-fought  victory,  and  gave  you 
a  retreating  and  conquered  enemy  to  pur- 
sue?" This  reply  presents  us  with  anil- 
lustration  of  the  Christian's  position.  Jesus, 
the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  has  conquered 
sin,  and  death,  and  Satan.  He  triumphed 
over  them  on  his  cross  (Col.  ii.  15,)  and  calls 
upon  us  to  pursue  the  conquered  foe.  The 
duty  of  Christians  is  to  follow  in  the  wake  of 
victory.  The  whole  hosts  of  hell  are  on  the 
retreat.  But  never  let  us  forget  that,  though 
vanquished,  they  are  not  yet  destroyed. 
The  retreating  enemy,  in  a  revengeful  spi- 
rit, will  turn  on  every  opportunity,  and  take 
quick  advantage  of  the  incautious  zeal  or 
weak  timidity  of  their  pursuers.  The  fear- 
ful they  will  assail ;  before  the  bold  and  the 
courageous  they  will  retire.  "Resist  the 
devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you."  (James, 
iv.  7.)  He  flees,  not  simply  because  we  re- 
sist, but  because  he  feels  he  has  been  already 
conquered  by  our  Lord.  To  say,  then,  that 
our  way  to  heaven  is  too  easy,  is  to  speak 
with  selfish  reference  to  ourselves,  overlook- 
ing the  travail,  and  the  agony,  and  the  blood 
of  Him  who  made  it  easy  for  us. 


20  INTRODUCTION 

Yet  we  ought  not  to  forget  that  this  wrong 
conchision  originated  in  Mr.  Howell  from  a 
right  feehng.  He  was  a  man  of  an  honour- 
able mind.  He  knew  that  he  had  wronged 
his  Maker,  and  he  felt  that  he  ought  to  make 
satisfaction, — nay  more,  he  wished  to  make 
it.  He  could  not  allow  himself  to  be  happy 
till  this  was  accomplished.  This  is  a  most 
important  point.  Many  honourable  men  of 
the  world  feel  utterly  at  a  loss  how  to  solve 
this  difficulty.  They  find  it  to  be  an  effec- 
tual barrier  to  their  progress;  they  feel  as 
though  it  would  not  be  honourable  to  accept 
such  a  free  invitation  to  heaven,  until  they 
have  made  a  full  reparation.  Now  here  the 
Gospel  meets  them.  It  declares,  "You  can- 
not make  this  reparation  yourselves;  but 
Christ  has  put  himself  in  your  place,  and  has 
made  it  for  you.  He  has  made  full  satisfac- 
tion to  God  for  your  offences:  yea,  he  has 
'magnified  the  law,'  which  you  have  dis- 
honoured, and  'made  it  honourable'  (Isaiah, 
xlii.  21.)  Your  invitation,  to  heaven,  then, 
is  made  to  you  on  the  very  ground  on  which 
you  desire  to  accept  it.  'A  full,  perfect,  and 
sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation  and  satisfaction,' 
has  been  made  for  sin;  so  that  God  may  be 
just,  and  yet  the  justifier  of  him  who  be- 
lieves." (Rom.  iii.  36.) 
Here,  then,  is  some  thing  to  lay  hold  of. 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  STEVENSON.  21 

The  justice  of  God  is  satisfied.  We  feel  that 
we  now  tread  on  soUd  ground.  We  see  that 
the  Gospel  is  no  superficial  thing,  but  a  sub- 
stantial realit3^  We  learn  that  our  case  has 
been  fully  dealt  with.  We  no  longer  hesi- 
tate. We  accept  the  work  of  our  Surety, 
and  we  rejoice.  This  became  Mr.  Howell's 
feeling;  he  understood  the  Gospel.  ''I  see, 
then,"  he  said,  "that  in  order  to  be  justi- 
fied, our  faith  must  embrace  the  blood  of 
Christ  for  the  pardon  of  our  innumerable  of- 
fences, and  the  perfect  righteousness  of  Christ 
as  a  substitute  for  our  want  of  righteousness." 
From  this  moment  his  peace  and  his  pro- 
gress were  like  a  noble  river  in  its  flow. 
The  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  had  been  given  to  him 
(Eph.  i.  17.)  the  eyes  of  his  understanding 
were  enlightened,  he  now  knew  that  the  hope 
of  his  calling  was  based  on  a  solid  and  im- 
movable foundation;  and  the  affections  of  his 
heart  became  captivated  by  the  love  of 
Christ.  The  immediate  effect  was  an  ardent 
desire  after  holiness.  It  is  deeply  interest- 
ing to  observe  this.  How  delightful,  how 
instructive  is  it  to  watch  the  progress  of  a 
soul  !  The  love  of  Christ,  like  fire,  con- 
sumes our  dross,  and  assimilates  us  to  him- 
self No  sooner  did  Mr.  Howell  understand 
the  love  of  a  crucified  Saviour  than  he  in- 


22  INTRODUCTION 

quired,  ''But  is  there  not  provision  in  the 
Gospel  scheme  for  our  deUverance  from  the 
power  of  sin?  God's  people  surely  should 
be  holy.  They  for  whom  the  Son  of  God 
died  should  themselves  die  unto  sin!" 

The  soul  has  attained  an  elevated  position 
when  it  can  utter  this  sentiment.  It  pants 
after  holiness.  The  noblest  ambition  that 
can  inspire  a  created  being  has  now  taken 
possession  of  the  Christian's  breast — he  longs 
to  be  restored  to  the  image  of  God  !  His  at- 
tention, therefore,  is  again  directed  to  the 
Gospel,  and  he  finds  it  to  be  pre-eminently  a 
provision  for  holiness.  He  finds  therein  not 
only  a  willing  Saviour,  but  also  a  sanctify- 
ing Spirit.  He  learns  that  it  was  by  the  se- 
cret drawings  of  this  Spirit  that  his  thoughts 
and  desires  were  first  turned  to  the  truths  of 
God's  word.  He  perceives  that  his  under- 
standing was  enlightened,  his  conscience 
awakened,  and  his  afllsctions  captivated,  by 
the  operation  of  this  Spirit.  He  now  knows 
that  the  outward  voice  of  the  minister  is  but 
the  instrument,  and  that  the  inward  voice  of 
the  Spirit  is  the  power  that  worketh  in  him; 
and  he  feels  that,  under  the  quickening  of 
this  Spirit,  his  love  to  prayer  is  strengthen- 
ing, that  his  delight  in  God's  word  is  increas- 
ing, and  that  his  hatred  to  sin,  and  his  de- 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  STEVENSON.  23 

sires  after  purity  in  every  thought  and  feel- 
ing, are  burning  with  an  intenser  glow. 

Thus  the  dying  Christian  is  made  meet 
for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 
He  does  not  now  estimate  himself  only  by 
the  external  act,  but  by  the  inward  motive. 
He  is  no  longer  well  satisfied  with  himself. 
He  no  longer  flatters  himself  that  he  has  dis- 
charged his  duties  to  his  neighbours.  He 
feels  that  he  owed  to  their  soul  a  debt  of 
love,  and  of  sympathy,  and  of  spiritual  kind- 
ness, which  he  had  never  taken  account  of. 
He  weeps  at  the  thought  of  his  previous 
bhndness  and  self-righteousness;  and,  while 
he  casts  all  the  past  upon  the  atoning  blood 
of  his  Redeemer,  he  will  be  enabled,  in  all 
honesty,  to  say,  by  the  sanctifying  grace  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  ' '  Henceforth  it  is  my  whole 
delight  to  love  the  Lord  my  God,  with  all 
my  heart,  and  with  all  my  soul,  and  with 
all  my  strength,  and  with  all  my  mind :  and, 
I  do  desire  to  love  my  neighbour  as  I  love 
myself!" 

What  a  change  has  here  taken  place ! 
The  twofold  law  of  condemnation  has  given 
way  to  the  twofold  law  of  love !  The  man 
has  grown  up  into  Christ.  (Eph.  iv.  1.5.) 
Such  was  at  last  the  case  with  Mr.  Howell. 
He  had  put  on  the  new  man  which  after  God 
is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness 


2A  INTRODUCTION 

(Eph.  iv.  24.)  And  so  sincerely  and  fully 
had  he  put  off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds 
(Col.  iii.  9,)  that  even  the  reflection  of  sin  in 
a  dream  of  the  night  filled  him  with  self-ab- 
horrence ! 

Behold  the  workmanship  of  God !  ' '  Who 
can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean?" 
The  Lord  alone  !  Behold,  then,  and  admire 
the  power  of  God !  Go  forward,  reader,  to 
the  perusal  of  these  letters.  May  these  ex- 
cellent instructions,  by  which  Mr.  Howell 
was  conducted  from  darkness  to  light,  from 
perplexity  to  peace,  be  equally  blessed  to 
thee !  Learn,  that  no  natural  amiability  of 
heart,  no  gigantic  powers  of  intellect,  noth- 
ing but  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  can  secure 
peace  to  a  troubled  conscience.  See  how 
former  worldliness,  and  forgetfulness  of  God, 
and  indifferency  to  Christ's  religion,  come 
back  with  a  lieavy  weight  upon  the  soul : 
what  thorns  to  the  dying  pillow,  what  hin- 
derers  of  spiritual  progress,  those  things  be- 
come, of  which  in  health,  but  small  account 
is  made.  Pray  then,  earnestly,  for  thine  own 
soul,  that  the  Spirit  of  the  hving  God  may 
make  thee  wise  unto  salvation.  From  the 
sublime  and  solemn  spectacle  of  a  fellow- 
creature  calmly  composing  himself  to  his 
last  sleep,  retire  with  this  resolution  indeli- 
bly  imprinted  on  thy  heart,    "To   me  to 


BY  THE  REV.  J.   STEVENSON.  25 

live"  shall  be  ''Chrisf'  (Phil.  i.  21.)  Thou 
shall  thus  experieuce  the  same  marvellous 
transformation  with  the  subject  of  this  in- 
teresting narrative.  The  medicine  of  the 
Gospel  will  produce  in  thee  also  the  true 
symptoms  of  everlasting  health.  In  the  ten- 
derness of  his  love  the  Great  Physician  will 
watch  over  the  progress  of  thy  soul's  conva- 
lescence. B)^  the  greatness  of  his  skill  he 
will  insure  the  restoration  of  thy  moral 
strength.  In  the  fulness  of  his  power  he  will 
raise  up  the  new  man  within  thee  in  the  holy 
bloom  of  spiritual  health,  and,  no  longer  re- 
quiring to  detain  thee  in  the  sick  chamber  of 
this  world,  he  will  bid  thee  also  to  go  to  that 
genial  chme,  where  no  danger  of  a  relapse 
can  reach  thee,  where  the  noxious  vapours 
of  sin  and  of  temptation  cannot  enter,  and 
where,  amongst  the  spirits  of  the  just,  thou 
shall  be  made  perfect  in  holiness  for  ever. 

J.  S. 

Cury  Vicarage,  Helston,  Coi-nwall, 
27th  January,  1844. 


MEMORIALS, 

&C.    &C. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


In  the  Bath  and  Cheltenham  Gazette^  of  Ja- 
nuary 10th,  1844,  there  appeared  the  following 
obituary : — 

"  At  Torquay,  on  the  4th  instant,  aged  33, 
John  Warren  Howell,  Esq.,  Surgeon,  of  Axford 
Buildings,  in  this  city. 

"  We  have  a  melancholy  duty  in  recording  the 
death  of  our  esteemed  friend,  the  late  John  War- 
ren Howell,  M.R.C.S.,  late  Honorary  Secretary 
of  the  Bath  Royal  Literary  and  Scientific  Insti- 
tution, and  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Lon- 
don Botanical,  and  other  learned  societies.  His 
professional  Hfe  was  marked  by  firmness,  ability, 
and  humanity.  Of  a  powerful,  energetic,  and 
original  mind,  his  whole  life  was  devoted  to  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  promoting  the  in- 
tellectual attainments  of  mankind.  As  a  lecturer 
he  was  eminently  distinguished.  Many  of  the 
articles  on  botany,  astronomy,  &c.,  which  have 


30  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

appeared  in  this  journal,  and  which  have  been 
honoured  by  the  learned  with  public  eulogiums, 
were  communicated  by  Mr.  Howell.  During  a 
long  period  of  suffering  from  pulmonary  consump- 
tion, the  mind  of  Mr.  Howell  was  exclusively  de- 
voted to  the  truths  of  revelation — a  subject,  the 
deep  importance  of  which  he  had  contemplated 
from  his  earliest  youth,  but  the  full  enjoyment  of 
which  he  never  realized,  until,  by  conversation 
with  Christian  friends  at  Torquay,  and  a  prayerful 
searching  of  the  Scriptures,  his  faith  became 
steadfast.  His  confidence  in  the  all-sufiiciency 
of  his  Redeemer's  ransom  was  to  the  last  moment 
of  his  life  spoken  of  with  humility,  gratitude,  and 
joy.  Beloved  by  all  who  had  the  felicity  of  his 
confidence,  for  his  unselfish  character,  his  since- 
rity, and  his  unblemished  virtue,  his  memory  will 
be  long  cherished,  and  his  example  reverenced. 
He  has  left  a  widow  and  three  infant  children  to 
deplore  his  loss;  for  whom,  during  his  short  ca- 
reer as  a  general  practitioner  in  this  city,  and  sub- 
sequent long  declining  state,  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  make  any  provision." 

The  information  contained  in  the  foregoing.ex- 
tract  produces  the  conviction,  that,  in  point  of  ta- 
lent and  attainment,  Mr.  Howell  was  elevated  far 
above  the  average  of  mankind,  and  awakens  a 
desire  to  know  something  more  concerning  his 
active  life,  and  his  peaceful  death.  A  Memoir  of 
his  literary  and  scientific  life  would  be  acceptable 
to  his  personal  friends,  and  of  advantage  to  the 
interests  of  science.     But  unhappily  the  present 


HIS    LITERARY    REMAINS.  31 

hinderances  to  ihe  accomplishment  of  this  desira- 
ble object  appear  to  be  insurmountable. 

Besides  a  large  collection  of  most  beautiful 
drawings  on  animal  and  vejietable  anatomy,  and 
very  numerous  diagrams,  illustrative  of  an  im- 
mense variety  of  topics  in  the  different  depart- 
ments of  natural  history,  Mr.  Howell  has  left  a 
multiplicity  of  notes  and  memoranda  which  would 
have  assisted  himself  in  prosecuting  a  work  he 
contemplated  on  "•  The  Unity  of  Nature." 
But  these  materials  are  considered  to  be  too  dis- 
connected and  fragmental  for  publication,  unless 
they  were  worked  into  shape  and  form  by  some 
person  of  a  similar  turn  of  mind,  and  who  was 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  Mr.  Howell's  parti- 
cular views  and  opinions:  and  such  a  person  can- 
not be  found.  One  of  his  literary  friends  in  Bath 
writes  to  me  : — "  For  the  last  ten  years  I  have 
seen  Mr.  Howell  almost  daily,  and,  having  his 
entire  confidence,  perfectly  understood  his  beau- 
tiful character.  Of  his  attainments  and  mental 
powers  I  dare  not  trust  myself  to  write,  and  feel 
conscious — sadly  conscious,  that,  amongst  those 
who  loved  him,  and  delighted  in  his  company, 
there  is  not  one  who  can  do  justice  to  his  memo- 
ry. He  soared  high  above  us  all — above  all  I 
ever  knew ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  make  this  evi- 
dent to  the  world." 

In  the  absence  of  a  Memoir,  the  reader  will  be 
better  prepared  for  understanding  and  appreci- 
ating the  nature  of  that  peace,  into  the  enjoyment 


33  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

of  which  Mr.  Howell  was  so  mercifully  brought 
in  his  latter  days,  by  a 

of  his  professional  career,  of  his  scientific  and 
literary  occupations,  and  of  his  general  character 
and  dispositions. 

John  Warren  Howell  was  born  in  Bath,  on 
the  21st  day  of  December,  1810.  In  that  city 
he  received  his  rudimental  education,  which  was 
defective  rather  than  liberal,  so  that  in  after-life 
he  was  wont  to  speak  with  regret  of  what  he  called 
"  the  waste  of  his  early  years."  To  a  great  ex- 
tent, it  may  be  said  that  he  was  self-taught.  The 
innate  vigour  of  his  intellect,  and  his  insatiable 
thirst  for  knowledge,  in  no  small  degree  compen- 
sated for  the  disadvantages  under  which  he  la- 
boured ;  and,  while  yet  a  youth,  it  was  remark- 
ed, that  his  attainments  were  beyond  his  years. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  articled  to  a  me- 
dical practitioner  in  Bath  ;  and,  during  the  five 
years  of  his  apprenticeship,  he  not  only  applied 
himself  with  all  diligence  to  the  more  immediate 
studies  of  his  profession,  but  eagerly  seized  on 
all  opportunities  of  acquiring  information  on  every 
subject,  and  especially  on  subjects  connected  with 
natural  history,  for  which  he  manifested  an  early 
predilection. 

When  his  apprenticeship  expired  in  the  year 


PROFESSIONAL    COMMENCEMENT.  33 

1830,  he  was  received  as  a  dresser  into  the  Bath 
Casualty  Hospital,  where  he  passed  twelve  months 
and  then  matriculated  as  medical  student  in  Trin- 
ity College,  Dublin.  There  he  enjoyed  the  pub- 
lic instructions  of  the  late  Dr.  Macartney,  and 
other  eminent  professional  men,  with  whom  he 
had  also  occasionally  the  benefit  of  holding  pri- 
vate intercourse.  As  a  student  he  gained  consi- 
derable distinction;  and,  even  at  this  period,  his 
proticiency  in  science  enabled  him,  in  1832,  to 
deliver  a  course  of  lectures  on  Medical  Botany, 
in  the  theatre  of  the  King  William  Street  School 
of  Medicine,  which  were  recognized  by  the  Royal 
College  of  Surgeons,  and  by  the  Apothecaries* 
Company,  London.  This  was  certainly  a  very 
gratifying  compliment  to  so  young  a  man. 

Having  completed  his  curriculum  of  medical 
education,  he  returned  to  England  in  1833,  bring- 
ing with  him  an  increased  and  ardent  love  for  the 
profession  he  had  chosen,  a  large  accumulation 
of  professional  and  general  knowledge,  and  the 
highest  testimonials  of  industry,  ability,  and  cha- 
racter. 

Mr.  Howell  lost  no  time  in  offering  himself  to 
the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  London,  as  a 
candidate  for  a  diploma.  He  has  himself  pre- 
served an  interesting  memorandum  of  his  exami- 
nations. In  answering  the  first  question  pro- 
pounded to  him,  he  had  entered  so  readily,  so 
fully,  and  so  intelligently,  into  an  explanation  of 
the  subject,  that  he  was  dismissed  in  ten  minutes. 
He  expected  a  leugthened  detention,  and,  as  he 


34  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

walked  towards  the  door,  uncertain  as  to  the  cause 
of  his  speedy  dismissal,  it  is  probable  that  his 
expressive  countenance  betrayed  his  inward  feel- 
ings ;  for  one  of  the  examinators  recalled  him, 
and  said,  "  You  are  accepted,  sir ;  and  we  thank 
you  for  the  gratification  and  pleasure  you  have 
afforded  us."  The  porter,  surprised  at  the  can- 
didate's premature  return,  concluded  he  must 
have  been  rejected,  and  addressed  him  in  a  kind 
and  doleful  tone,  "  I'm  sorry  for  you,  young 
man.".  But  Mr.  Howell's  bright  smile,  as  he  ut- 
tered, "  All 's  right,"  changed  his  condolence  in- 
to congratulation. 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  he  commenced  prac- 
tice in  his  native  city,  and  soon  felt  the  want  of 
that  congenial  society  he  had  enjoyed  during  the 
prosecution  of  his  studies  in  Dublin.  There,  be- 
sides the  kindred  spirits  among  the  students  with 
whom  he  associated,  he  had  been  favoured  with 
occasional  interviews  with  men  of  the  highest 
consideration  for  talent  and  acquirements — men 
from  whose  matured  experience  he  gathered  use- 
ful information,  which  acted  both  as  a  stimulus, 
and  as  a  guide  to  his  own  inquiries.  In  Bath 
there  were  also  many  eminent  literary  and  pro- 
fessional men.  But  it  was  not  the  privilege  of 
Mr.  Howell  to  have  gained  access  to  their  socie- 
ty. He  was  young,  and  unknown,  and,  as  yet, 
moving  in  a  sphere  of  comparative  obscurity. 
He  endeavoured,  however,  to  remedy  this  misfor- 
tune by  cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  young 
men  who  gave  indication  of  genius  and  of  enter- 


SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS.  35 

'prise  :  and,  as  a  point  of  concentration,  as  well 
as  a  means  of  mutual  improvement,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Mr.  Howell,  and  chieflj  through  his 
instrumentality,  the  Bath  Literary  and  Scientific 
Association  was  organized  in  1837.  Mr.  How- 
ell was  nominated  to  the  office  of  honorary  secre- 
tary. In  connexion  with  this  Society  he  first. ap- 
peared before  the  Bath  public  as  a  lecturer.  The 
subject  announced  was,  "  The  Unity  of  Nature." 
A  copy  of  the  programme  of  this  lecture  now  lies 
before  me,  and  decidedly  proves  how  compre- 
hensive were  his  views  of  this  sublime  subject  at 
that  early  stage  of  his  professional  life. 

Mr.  Howell's  public  lectures  were  well  attend- 
ed; and,  among  other  beneficial  effects,  they  in- 
creased the  number  of  the  members  of  the  Asso- 
ciation,— many  of  whom,  now  pursuing  with  suc- 
cess the  path  of  industry  and  of  knowledge,  into 
which  their  zealous  founder  directed  them,  will 
remember  with  grateful  pleasure  the  able  and 
beautiful  papers  which  Mr.  Howell  read  at  their 
weekly  meetings,  on  Astronomy,  Optics,  Chem- 
istry, Botany,  Geology,  Mineralogy,  &c.  But 
this  Association  had  a  short-lived  existence.  In 
fact,  its  prosperity,  in  a  great  measure,  depended 
on  Mr.  Howell's  resources  and  exertions,  and 
drew  more  largely  on  his  time  than  was  conve- 
nient. For  this,  and  other  reasons,  which  need 
not  be  detailed,  its  dissolution  became  inevitable. 

Subsequently,  Mr.  Howell  delivered  pubhc  lec- 
tures, and  courses  of  lectures,  on  a  variety  of 
scientific  subjects.     And  in  January  1842  he  at- 


36 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


tempted  to  exhibit,  in  ten  lectures,  "  The  propri- 
ety and  usefuhiess  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology 
as  a  branch  of  general  education." 

These  lectures  were  delivered  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Bath  Royal  Literary  and  Scientific  Institution, 
of  which  Mr.  Howell  had,  some  time  previously, 
and  in  a  very  gratifying-  manner,  been  appointed 
the  honorary  secretary.  They  attracted  crowd- 
ed audiences,  and  were  illustrated  by  anatomical 
preparations,  and  by  numerous  large  drawings 
executed  by  Mrs.  Howell,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  her  husband. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  a  corre- 
spondence took  place  with  the  Liverpool  Me- 
chanics' Institution,  which  resulted  in  the  con- 
sent of  Mr.  Howell  to  give  a  course  of  lectures 
in  Liverpool  "  On  the  Brain  and  Nervous  Sys- 
tem." But  his  preparations  for  this  undertaking 
were  checked  by  the  progress  of  the  disease, 
which  ultimately  proved  fatal. 

All  Mr.  Howell's  lectures  displayed  a  deep  and 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  many  different  topics 
of  which  they  treated.  They  were  specimens  of 
the  versatility  of  his  genius,  as  well  as  of  the  ex- 
tent of  his  researches.  They  were  distinguished 
by  great  originality  of  thought,  and  by  profound 
logical  acumen.  And,  from  his  command  of 
matter,  they  were  generally  prolonged  to  double 
the  length  of  time  that  is  usual ;  but  the  atten- 
tion of  his  audiences  was  sustained  throughout 
by  the  continual  flow  of  new  and  interesting  ideas, 
and  by  his  elegant  and  engaging  manner  of  de- 


SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS. 


37 


5ivery.  Mr.  Howell  was  pre-eminent  as  a  lec- 
turer; and  it  is  much  to  be  reffretted  that  none 
of  his  very  instructive  lectures  were  fully  written 
out.  He  was  gifted  with  an  uncommon  fiicility 
of  expressing  his  sentiments  in  the  most  perspi- 
cuous and  appropriate  lano;uafre  ;  and,  on  this 
account,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  speaking  from 
short  notes.  Sometimes,  indeed,  he  spoke  with 
the  greatest  fluency  for  two  hours,  and  altogether 
extempore* 

*  Since  this  sketch  was  completed  I  have  seen  letters 
from  two  of  Mr.  Howell's  scientific  companions.  One  of 
them  who  is  at  present  resident  in  Bath,  says,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  year  l842  and  the  early  part  of  1843, — "A 
•week  seldom  passed  durii-c:  which  1  had  not,  on  different 
days,  spent  much  of  my  lime  in*  his  company.  During 
ray  intimacy  with  him,  which  was  the  intimacy  of  brothers, 
I  could  not  fail  being  struck  with  his  originality  of  thought, 
with  his  acuteness  in  analysis,  and  with  his  patient  perse- 
verance in  research.  And  I  may  say  that  scientific  in- 
quiries, to  be  at  all  worthy  of  regard,  require  no  small  de- 
gree of  these  qualifications."  "His  mode  of  lecturing 
was  clear  and  decisive,  generally  quiet,  although  the  in- 
terest of  the  subject  not  unfrequently  led  the  lecturer  to 
continue  speaking  much  beyond  the  u.sual  time  allotted, 
and 'thus  to  exert  liimself  beyond  his  strength.  It  was  the 
opinion  that  there  was  matter  esough  in  one  lecture  to 
have  made  two  \ery  good  ones." 

The  other  gentleman,  resident  in  London,  thus  writes 
respecting  Mr.  Howell, — "  As  a  philosopher,  he  was  dili- 
gent in  the  pursuit  of  science,  treading  her  mazy  and  dif- 
ficult paths  with  confidence,  perseverance,  and  succe^s." 
•<'  His  reasoning  was  generally  characterised  by  original- 
ity of  thought,  and  his  ideas  expressed  in  language  ap- 
propriate, firm,  and  unequivocal."     "His  genius  soared 

4 


38  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

On  the  subject  of  botany,  however,  which  was 
one  of  Mr.  Howell's  principal  favourites,  two 
separate  series  of  articles  were  inserted  in  the 
Bath  and  Cheltenham  Gazette^  to  which  allu- 
sion is  made  in  the  obituary.  These  articles  were 
entitled,  "  Walks  in  the  Botanic  Garden,"  and 
amounted  in  number  to  no  less  than  forty.  Other 
articles  of  a  scientific  nature,  from  the  same  fruit- 
ful pen,  appeared  at  different  times  in  the  same 
respectable  journal.  One  of  them,  "  On  the 
Structure  of  the  Capsule  of  PAPAVERACEiE,"  and 
"  On  the  Nature  of  the  Stigmata  of  Crucifer^,'* 
was  afterwards  inserted  in  No.  Qo  of  the  Annals 
and  Magazine  of  Natural  History.  It  arrested 
the  attention  of  scientific  men,  and  a  continuance 
of  Mr.  Howell's  communications  was  requested 
for  that  very  able  periodical. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  deemed  advisable  to  g-ather 
into  a  small  volume  all  the  articles  on  botany^ 
astronomy,  and  other  scientific  topics,  which  Mr. 
Howell  himself  had  thought  worthy  of  submitting 
to  the  public,  and  which,  in  their  detached  forms, 

into  heaven,  and  told  the  stars ;  descended  into  the  sea, 
and  explored  the  deep  ;  expanded  over  the  earth,  and 
comprehended  the  three  kingdoms  in  its  ^rasp,"  "  Al- 
though universality  of  acquirements  is  generally  acknow- 
ledged to  be  incompatible  with  the  deep,  reflective  mind, 
^'et  there  are  go  many  instances  on  record  of  men  whose 
intellects  were  so  strong  as  to  enable  them  to  pierce  the 
very  penetralia  of  wisdom,  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  ap])ly 
the  epithet  universal  genius  to  Howell,  or  to  class  him 
among  their  number.  His  acquirements  were  as  sterling 
as  his  talents  were  varied. 


PAPERS    ON    BOTANY,    ETC.  39 

have  already  been  marked  by  the  approval  of 
competent  judges.  Although  they  are  only  iso- 
lated parts,  or  small  fragments,  of  large  and  com- 
prehensive subjects,  still  they  bear  upon  them  the 
stamp  of  an  original  and  reflective  mind  ;  for, 
however  much  Mr.  Howell  consulted  the  works 
of  authors  of  established  reputation,  he  subjected 
the  truth  of  all  their  statements  to  the  test  of  strict 
investigation,  or  of  analytical  experimenL  He 
made  observations  for  himself,  and  exercised  care- 
ful and  profound  reflection  on  every  subject  that 
engaged  his  attention.  He  tied  himself  down  to 
no  systems.  He  called  no  man  master.  Truth, 
wherever  he  could  find  it,  and  from  whomsoever 
he  could  learn  it,  was  the  grand  object  of  which 
he  never  lost  sight.  As  an  intelhgent,  and  un- 
prejudiced, and  persevering  student  of  the  arcana 
of  Nature,  it  is  known  to  his  intimate  friends  that 
he  was  continually  making  discoveries  in  some 
one  or  other  of  the  departments  of  science;  and 
had  he  lived  to  prosecute  and  arrange,  and  pub- 
hsli  his  valuable  researches,  there  is  good  ground 
for  believing  that  he  would  have  earned  for  him- 
self a  high  and  deserved  rank  amongst  the  dis- 
tinguished few  whose  learning  and  whose  labours 
have  rendered  their  names  illustrious  in  the  an- 
nals of  philosophy  and  science. 

Of  Mr.  Howell's  general  character  and  dispo- 
sitions it  would  be  presumptuous  in  me,  on  so 
short  an  acquaintance,  to  attempt  a  full  and  regu- 
lar delineation.     But  I  feel  justified  in  mention 


40  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

ing  some  points  tliat  prominently  appeared  in  the 
intercourse  Avitli  liim  which  I  was  privileged  to 
enjoy  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life. 

The  first  thing  that  struck  me  as  unusual  was 
the  entire  exclusion  from  his  conversation  of  al 
mere  commonplace  remarlzs.  As  a  stranger  in 
the  place,  as  an  invalid  whose  comfortable  sen- 
sations were  very  dependent  on  heat  and  sun- 
shine, and  as  an  intelligent  and  social  member  of 
society,  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  country 
and  of  mankind,  it  would  have  been  allowable — 
it  would  have  been  natural,  to  have  asked  of  a 
visitor  what  w^as  the  news  of  the  day,  who  had 
arrived  and  who  departed,  or  what  was  the  state 
of  the  weather.  I  do  not,  however,  recollect  of 
Mr.  Howell  ever  saying  one  word  to  me  on 
either  of  these  never-ending  topics  of  talk  with 
ordinary  people.  On  every  occasion  of  my  visit- 
ing him,  he  had  scarcely  answered  my  inquiri-es 
about  his  health,  when  he  plunged  at  once 
into  some  subject  of  importance.  He  did  this 
the  very  first  day  1  sat  at  his  bedside  ;  and  he 
did  so  constantly. 

In  connexion  with  this  extraordinary  absence 
of  trifling  remarks,  I  must  notice  the  uncommon 
activity  of  his  mind,  which  never  was  overcome, 
excepting  by  the  power  of  opiates,  or  by  occasion- 
al fits  of  exhaustion.  Even  whilst  lying  on  bed 
so  long,  notwithstanding  the  general  debility  to 
which  he  was  reduced,  and  his  incapacity  for 
continuous  reading,  he  was  never  found  in  a 
listless   or  dreamy   mood.     His    mind  was    not 


CENETIAL  CHAKACTER  AND  DISPOSITION.       41 

only  actively  cmploypcl,  but  his  Avhole  mental 
energies  were  intently  fixed  on  some  one  particu- 
lar subject.  This  great  power  of  abstraction,  or 
concentrativeness,  tbrced  itself  on  my  attention 
as  a  peculiarity.  In  his  circumstances,  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  the  activity  of  his  mind 
would  have  manifested  itself  in  restlessness, — in 
the  untTovernable  roving  of  his  thoufrhts  amidst 
the  immensity  of  subjects  with  which  he  was 
familiar,  and  affecting  even  his  bodily  frame 
with  continual  tossings  to  and  fro.  But  the  very 
reverse  of  this  was  manifested.  His  thouohts 
were  under  complete  control.  They  ran  all  in 
the  direction  of  some  one  truth  that  had  been 
submitted  to  his  consideration  ;  and  they  never 
were  diverted  from  it  till  he  had  sifted  it  to  his 
satisfaction.  In  calhng  on  him  any  day,  I  found 
him  still  occupied  with  what  had  been  the  theme 
of  the  former  conversation. 

And  then  there  was  a  calmness  and  composure 
of  demeanour  such  as  are  rarely  met  with.  In 
the  midst  of  much  bodily  uneasiness,  I  have  fre» 
quently  seen  him  remain  still  as  a  rock  for  the 
whole  period  of  my  visit.  The  body  was  as 
quiescent  as  the  mind  was  active.  Religion,  no 
doubt,  latterly  exercised  a  mighty  and  a  blissful 
influence  over  him,  in  the  patience,  and  resigna- 
tion, and  peace  which  it  supplied ;  but,  inde- 
pendent of  all  that  was  superinduced  by  religious 
principle,  there  was  evidently  a  magnanimity  in 
his  constitutional  temperament,  which  raised 
h.im  superior  to  the  pains  and  the  annoyances 
4* 


42 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


which  would  have  caused  irritation  to  most  men. 
And,  besides,  I  believe  that  he  had  tutored  him- 
self into  a  kind  of  philosophic  dignity  of  conduct, 
which  was  equally  removed  from  sinful  pride, 
and  from  stoical  indifference.  His  judgment 
always -maintaiix^d  the  mastery  over  his  feelings. 
He  endured  what  he  could  not  remove.  He 
knew  the  folly  of  making  worse  what  was  be- 
yond his  power  to  mend.  He,  therefore,  endea- 
voured to  make  the  best  of  things  as  they  were.* 
Another  characteristic  feature  that  attracted 
my  notice  was  a  combination  of  opposite  quali- 
ties, acting  like  antagonist  forces,  and  imparting 
to  his  mind  a  pecuhar  and  beautiful  equipoise. 
Confidence  in  his  own  capabilities, — in  his  re- 
sources, and  motives,  and  intentions, — was  min 
gled  with  diffidence  in  subjecting  himself  to  the 

*  The  following  anecdote  is  a  striking  instance  of  his 
self-command  and  composure  under  circumstances  of 
trial  : — One  day,  when  a  lecture  "  On  the  Eye  and 
Vision  "  had  been  advertised,  before  he  went  out  in  the 
morning,  he  gave  directions  about  the  proper  placing  on 
the  wall  of  the  room  of  a  number  of  diagrams,  which 
were  necessary  for  illustration.  He  did  not  return  from 
seeing  his  patients  till  the  company  had  assembled.  But, 
on  entering  the  room,  he  discovered,  on  a  glance,  that  the 
diagrams  were  entirely  misplaced.  To  have  put  them 
risht  would  have  caused  both  delay  and  confusion.  Mr. 
Howell  betrayed  neither  displeasure  nor  disappointment. 
He  commenced  a  lecture  on  an  entirely  different  subject; 
and,  at  the  conclusion,  he  explained  to  the  audience  what 
had  hnppened,  and  intimated  the  day  on  which  he  would 
deliver  the  lecture  he  had  prepared.  Not  one  man  in  a 
thousand  could  have  acted  as  he  did. 


MORAL    EXCELLENCIES.  43 

judgment  of  other  persons,  and  witli  great  mo- 
desty in  stating  his  own  opinions.  Candour  and 
sincerity  in  acknowledging  ignorance  or  error, 
were  accompaiiitd  with  a  kind  of  reservation,  as 
if  lie  were  afraid  of  couunitting  himself  too  far. 
An  apparent  frankness*  and  suavity  of  manners 
was  hlended  with  an  indescribahle  sometliing 
that  forbade  familiarity.  And,  with  a  very  re- 
markable talent  for  communicating  instruction  to 
others,  he  himself  was  largely  possessed  of  the 
spirit  of  docility,  and  was  ever  ready  and  eager 
to  be  taught.  As  the  result  of  all  these  conflict- 
ing sentiments  and  feelings,  his  character  was 
adorned  by  constant  watchfulness  over  himself, 
and  by  much  prudence  and  discretion  in  his 
dealings  with  mankind.  He  was  a  cautious  man. 
The  mind  of  Mr.  Howell  had,  indeed,  been 
cast  in  a  noble  mould.  He  was  richly  endowed 
with  those  high  mental  qualifications  which 
constitute  the  true  philosopher.  But,  in  addition 
to  so  much  that  was  purely  intellectual,  there 
was  about  him  a  moral  loveliness  that  greatly 
elevates  our  conceptions  of  his  general  character. 
His  conduct  was  very  blameless  in  the  sight  of 
man.  He  did  not  degrade  himself,  as  many  do, 
by  sensual  and  vicious  indulgences.  The  pru- 
dence and  self-respect  which  guided  him  in  other 
things  exerted  their  benign  influence  to  uphold 
him  in  the  path  of  virtue.  The  refinement  of  his 
mind,  too,  and  his  extreme  delicacy  of  feeling, 
made  vice  odious  to  him.  Thus  he  avoided  many 
of  the  evil  practices  into  which  young  men  are 


44  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

often  so  easily  ensnared.  And,  by  the  con- 
current teslimony  of  those  who  knew  him  best, 
he  was  a  highly  honourable,  upright,  and  aniia* 
ble  man.  But  tliis  must  not  be  mistaken  for 
scriptural  and  spiritual  religion.  He  certain- 
ly had  at  heart  an  abiding  theoretic  reverence 
for  the  Divine  Being;  and  he  conscientiously 
professed  belief  in  Divine  Revelation.  He  con- 
stantly and  openly  repudiated  the  sceptical  opi- 
nions so  prevalent  in  the  French  schools  of  me- 
dicine and  of  science.  In  his  own  study  of  the 
manifold  works  of  God,  he  took  pleasure  in  dis- 
covering the  wonderful  traces  of  divine  wisdom, 
and  of  almiglity  power,  whether  in  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  starry  heavens,  or  in  the  anatomy 
of  the  minutest  plants.  And  in  his  public  lec- 
tures he  appears  to  have  delighted  in  exhibiting 
and  explaining  to  his  fellow-creatures,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  young,  whatever  was  calculated  to 
exalt  their  conceptions  of  the  great  Creator. 
The  Divine  Being  whom  lie  so  habitually  revered 
was  the  God  of  Nature.  But  it  is,  nevertheless, 
a  painful  truth,  which  must  not  be  concealed, 
that,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  studies,  Mr.  Hovv'ell 
practicaUij  forgot  the  God  who  is  revealed  to  us 
only  in  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  forgot  his  obli- 
gations to  obey  those  Scriptures,  whose  divine 
inspiration  he  acknowledged.  The  fear  of  God 
was  not  before  his  eyes;  the  love  of  God  was 
not  in  his  heart ;  the  glory  of  God  Avas  not  the 
object  he  had  in  viev/,  nor  the  end  at  which  he 
aimed ;  the  day  of  holy  rest  which  God  has  set 


INSUFFICIENCY  OF  HUMAN  KNOWLEDGE.       45 

apart  for  his  own  special  service,  was  desecrated 
by  secular  occupations ;  the  pubhc  worship  of 
God  was  seldom  attended,  and  family  worship 
was  not  thought  of;  the  welfare  of  his  immor- 
tal soul  was  overlooked  ;  the  great  concerns  of 
the  eternal  world  were  neglected.  This  is  no 
ex agi>e ration.  It  is  the  substance  of  his  own 
heartfelt  regrets, — of  his  own  tearful  confessions, 
on  a  dying  bed. 

It  is  willingly  admitted  that  the  pursuits  in 
which  Mr.  Howell  had  employed  his  noble  ta- 
lents, and  spent  his  time,  often  by  night,  as  well 
as  by  day,  and  prematurely  wasted  his  strength, 
were  not  in  themselves  sinful,  and  that  they  had 
yielded  him  a  large  amount  of  intellectual  and 
rational  gratification.  So  likewise,  it  is  no  more 
than  justice  to  record  how  kind  and  dutiful  he 
was  in  all  the  varied  relations  of  life.  He  was 
decidedly  a  social  and  domestic  man.  So  long 
as  he  remained  under  the  parental  roof,  he  was 
far  from  despising  parental  authority.  And  when 
he  married  he  gave  to  the  object  of  his  choice 
that  faithful  devoted ness  of  affection  which  he 
claimed  and  received  in  return.  The  endear- 
ments of  wedded  life  made  him  indifferent  to  the 
pleasures  of  public  amusements  and  of  private 
parties.  With  his  wife  and  children,  and  with 
the  quiet  companionship  of  a  few  scientific 
friends,  he  found  a  perpetual  source  of  social  and 
domestic  happiness.  But  he  was  brought  to  see 
and  acknowledge  that  he  had  sinned  in  giving  to 
creature  objects  that  ardent  regard  and  exclusive 


46 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


affection  to  wliich  they  were  not  entitled.  And 
he  was  made  to  feel  that  God  himself,  as  recon- 
ciled to  us  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  only  source  of 
pure,  and  satisfying,  and  lasting  enjoyment. 

When  divine  grace  taught  him  that  he  was  a 
sinner  standing  in  need  of  salvation,  and  that  he 
was  a  dying  man  unprepared  for  the  eternity  to 
which  he  was  approaching,  then  he  experienced 
the  utter  inefficiency  of  all  his  former  pursuits, 
and  of  all  his  acquired  knowledge,  and  of  all  his 
moral  excellencies,  and  of  all  his  social  and  do- 
mestic enjoyments,  to  quiet  his  fears,  or  to  in- 
spire a  cheering  hope.  And  so  soon  as  his  heart 
was  opened  to  receive  "  the  grace,  mercy,  and 
peace,"  which  are  multiplied  towards  us  through 
the  knowledge  and  faith  of  our  God  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  then  he  would  have  said  to  his 
learned  and  scientific  associates  as  he  did  actu- 
ally say  to  his  wife,  "  We  have  indeed  lived  very 
happily  together,  but  we  have  missed  much  hap- 
piness; we  have  been  strangers  to  true  happi- 
ness ;  and,  were  we  to  live  our  lives  over  again, 
we  should  be  infinitely  more  happy  in  loving  and 
serving  God  than  ever  we  have  been  before." 

Mr.  Howell  did  not  rank  himself  amongst  the 
pious  and  the  devout,  nor  was  he  in  the  habit  of 
associating  with  them.  He  was  too  honest  to 
profess  what  he  did  not  sincerely  feel  and  con- 
scientiously practise.  In  fact,  the  inconsisten- 
cies which  he  observed  in  persons  who  did  make 
high  religious  professions  had  been  a  stumbling- 
block  to  him  from  his  youth  upwai'ds.     At  the 


INSUFFICIENCY  OF  HUMAN  KNOWLEDGE.       47 

same  time,  it  would  be  a  perversion  of  truth  to 
sav,  or  to  give  reason  to  suppose,  that  he  ever 
•was  re":arc]less  of  re!i<>ioii.  He  was  as  far  re- 
moved  as  possible  froni  scepticism,  and  the  frame 
of  his  mind  was  too  serious  to  allow  him  to  scoff 
at  what  was  sacred.  His  desire  to  obtain  know- 
ledge of  all  kinds  prompted  him  to  make  a  study 
of  wiiat  is  called  natural  theology.  He  also 
carefully  examined  the  evidences  of  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Bible,  and  he  spoke  to  me  of  his 
fondness  for  controversial  divinity.  Such  sub- 
jects afforded  scope  for  intellectual  prowess, — 
for  reflection,  and  for  argument  Besides,  his 
constitutional  love  of  truth, — his  love  of  finding 
out  where  truth  lay, — worked  together  with  Iws 
natural  inquisitiveness  in  renewing  his  religious 
inquiries  from  time  to  time.  Neither  was  he 
speculatively  ignorant  of  the  peculiar  and  essen- 
tial doctrines  of  Christianity.  These,  as  well  as 
less  important  and  more  curious  matters,  receiv- 
ed a  share  of  his  all-grasping  consideration. 
With  his  professional  friend,  Dr.  Morgan,  he 
used  to  cnnverse  freely  on  religious  topics.  From 
this  gentleman  he  obtained  much  information  on 
the  errors  of  Popery,  and  likewise  on  the  Unita- 
rian heresy.  And  latterly,  when  the  appearance 
of  consumptive  symptoms  led  him  to  think  of 
their  probable  termination,  he  was  thankful  for 
"  the  words  in  season"  whicli  the  doctor  occa- 
sionally dropped  while  in  professional  attend- 
ance upon  Mr.  Howell  previous  to  his  leaving 
Bath. 


48  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  the  character  of 
Mr.  Howell,  and  adverted  to  his  literary  and 
scientific  attainments,  the  duty  which  now  de- 
volves on  me  is  to  furnish  the  reader  with 

^  Narrative 

of  the  gracious  dealings  of  God  with  this  highly 
gifted  man,  and  particularly  of  what  fell  under 
my  own  observation  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
fatal  illness.  This  duty  is  as  free  from  difficulty 
as  it  is  full  of  delight. 

In  the  arrangements  of  Providence,  it  not  un- 
frequently  happens  that  the  loss  of  bodily  health 
and  temporal  advantages  is  made  subservient  to 
the  acquisition  of  spiritual  and  eternal  life.  It 
was  so  with  Mr.  Howell.  His  illness  set  a  limit 
to  the  extent  of  his  exertions  ;  it  interrupted  the 
constancy  of  his  persevering  application ;  it 
checked  the  ardour  of  his  pursuit  after  increas- 
ing knowledge ;  it  put  the  stamp  of  "  van- 
ity and  vexation  of  spirit"  on  his  ambitious  de- 
sires to  gain  some  notoriety  in  the  world  of  let- 
ters ;  and  thus  a  new  direction  was  given  to  his 
thoughts  and  his  inquiries.  In  fact,  it  constituted 
the  commencement  of  a  new  era  in  his  history, 
for  from  this  time  he  began  to  regard  religion  as 
something  practical  and  personal ;  and  yet  the 
change  was  slow  and  gentle,  rather  than  sudden 
and  decided. 

When  first  he  came  to  Torquay,  in  May  last 
year,   his  disease  had  not  made  great  progress, 


FIRST    ILLNESS.  40 

and  he  was  alone.  His  wife  and  family  were 
left  beliind,  as  his  ^nay  was  not  intended  to  be 
for  any  length  of  time.  His  physical  strength 
was  not  as  yet  so  much  impaired  as  to  incapaci- 
tate him  for  out-of-doors  exercise  and  enjoyment ; 
and  to  him  it  was  a  real  and  a  great  enjoyment 
to  saunter  in  the  Devonshire  lanes,  where  the 
luxuriant  hedges  afforded  him  the  richest  fields 
for  botanising.  Still  more  peculiar  and  enthu- 
siastic was  his  delight  in  strolling  along  the 
shores  of  Torbay,  and  in  examininjr  the  varie- 
ties of  marine  plants  and  animals  with  which  the 
locality  abounds  ;  for  he  had  been  in  the  habit, 
now  and  then,  of  having  a  box  of  the  nett-refuse 
sent  to  him  at  Bath  from  the  very  place  where 
he  now  resided.  It  was  quite  a  pleasure  to  find 
himself  at  the  sea-side  ;  and  here  he  had  the 
additional  pleasure  of  meeting  with  different 
individuals  of  similar  tastes  with  himself,  with 
whom  he  could  converse  on  his  favourite  topics, 
and  who  were  qualified  to  appreciate  his  attain- 
ments. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  Tor- 
quay that  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Tet- 
ley,  who  soon  became  his  attached  friend  as  well 
as  his  skilful  physician.  He  was  a  daily  visitor 
at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  S.  F.  Statham  ;  and  by 
degrees  his  friends  and  acquaintances  increased, 
all  of  whom,  as  far  as  I  have  heard,  were  led  to 
feel  an  unusual  interest  in  Mr.  Howell ;  and 
some  of  them,  under  the  constraining  influence 
of  Christian  love,  yearned  over  him  as  a  hopeful 
S 


50  BIOGUAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

young  man  who  was  not  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  He  was  frequentlj  drawn  into  im- 
portant conversation  on  the  fundamental  truths 
of  the  Gospel  by  individuals  who  longed  to  see 
him  partaking  of  those  consolations  which  nothing 
earthly  can  administer  to  the  sick  and  dying,  and 
of  that  hope  which  is  full  of  immortality.  A 
young  clergyman  from  Suffolk,  who  was  also  at 
Torquay  as  an  invalid,  took  a  peculiar  interest  in 
Mr.  Howell.  He  frequently  accompanied  him 
in  his  botanising  excursions,  and  was  sedulous  in 
his  endeavours  to  bring  him  to  the  simple  faith  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  God's  time  of  mer- 
cy was  not  yet  come.  Mr.  Howell  listened  with 
patient  attention  to  every  statement  of  divine  truth 
that  was  submitted  to  him,  and  where  there  was 
room  for  it  he  entered  eagerly  into  the  argument. 
But,  as  he  afterwards  acknowledged,  it  was  no- 
thing more  than  the  play  of  the  understanding. 
In  the  letters  which  he  every  day  wrote  home, 
there  were  continual  and  interesting  notices  of 
the  places  he  had  visited,  and  of  the  natural  ob- 
jects he  had  examined,  and  of  the  benefit  which 
his  health  was  deriving  from  the  genial  climate  ; 
but  he  said  little  on  that  one  subject  which  he  af- 
terwards felt  to  be  the  "  one  thing  needful."  He 
did  not  write  as  a  man  who  had  been  convinced 
of  his  guilt  and  danger.  His  letters  breathed  no 
anxious  concern  about  spiritual  health,  no  urgent 
desires  after  everlasting  salvation  :  the  compara- 
tively unimportant  researches  into  the  beautiful  and 
wonderful  mechanism  and  properties  of  the  works 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  AT  TORQUAY.  51 

of  God  Still  maintained  a  disproportionate  share 
of  his  mental  energies.  He  was  not  yet  brought 
to  fed  that  the  greatest  and  most  important  of  all 
studies  is,  the  knowledge  of  God  liimself  as  he  is 
revealed  to  his  sinful  creatures  in  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures. 

Mr.  Howell  improved  in  health  and  strength 
very  steadily  ;  and  in  the  beginning  of  July  he 
left  Torquay,  under  the  impression  that  every  un 
favourable  symptom  had  been  subdued,  and  tJiat 
he  was  able  to  resume  his  usual  occupations  at 
Bath.  In  this,  however,  he  was  sadly  mistaken. 
The  warninghe  had  had  of  consumptive  tendencies 
was  unhappily  and  unaccountably  lost  upon  him. 
Misled  by  the  delusive  character  of  the  disease, 
and  flushed  with  the  speedy  renovation  of  his 
health,  he  devoted  himself  with  too  much  enger- 
iiess  to  his  professional  practice,  and  to  his  scien- 
tific pursuits.  In  a  few  wrecks  he  became  worse 
than  ever.  A  consultation  was  held,  and  his 
medical  advisers  judged  it  necessary  that  he  should 
instantly  again  leave  Bath.  They  were  also  of 
opinion,  that  the  only  probability  of  his  ultimate 
recovery  depended  on  a  residence  for  a  term  of 
years  in  a  soft  and  genial  climate.  Mr.  Howell 
was  therefore  obliged,  in  a  hurried  manner,  to 
break  up  his  establishment,  and  abandon  his  prac- 
tice ;  and  he  resolved  on  returning  to  the  jilace 
where  he  had  formerly  been  benefitted. 

But  he  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  great  alarm 
by  the  decidedly  unfavourable  view  which  had 
been  taken  of  his  case,  and  by  the  subsequent  ar- 


52 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


raiigements  ;  and,  when  he  came  the  second  time 
into  Devonshire,  early  in  August,  there  was  a  very 
manifest  alteration  on  him  in  respect  both  of  body 
and  of  mind.  His  strength  was  prostrated.  His 
nervous  system  had  sustained  a  dreadful  shock. 
He  was  depressed  in  spirits,  and  greatly  agitated. 
A  lodging  had  been  taken  for  him  in  the  village 
of  Torre,  adjoining  to  Torquay  ;  and,  on  his  ar- 
rival, although  he  had  spent  a  night  on  the  road, 
he  suffered  under  such  extreme  exhaustion,  that 
the  people  of  the  house  feared  he  might  have 
died. 

It  was  deemed  advisable,  not  only  that  Mr. 
Howell  should  leave  Bath  without  delay,  but  that 
he  should  avoid  the  bustle  and  disagreeableness 
of  a  family  movement  under  such  trying  circum- 
stances. Matters  of  indispensable  business  were 
devolved  on  Mrs.  Howell,  who  was  detained  for 
several  days  ;  and,  when  she  arrived  at  Torre, 
she  found  her  husband  in  a  state  of  great  uneasi- 
ness, from  the  apprehension  that  his  death  was 
certain,  and  that  it  might  be  sudden. 

That  evening,  after  his  wife  had  read  a  por- 
tion of  Scripture  to  soothe  and  comfort  him,  he 
asked  her  to  pray  with  him.  This  request  took 
her  by  surprise,-  it  was  something  quite  new. 
She  was  unaccustomed  to  pray  aloud,  and  felt 
obliged  to  dechne.  "  Then  I  must  do  it  myself," 
said  Howell ;  and  he  did  pray  with  her,  which  he 
had  never  done  before.  He  was  in  distress,  and 
felt  that  God  was  his  only  refuge.  He  felt  that 
prayer   was   more  than   a    duty — it   was   a  pri- 


SEEKS  CONSOLATION  IN  RELIGION.  hS 

vilege  ;  and  from  tliis  time  they  bad  always  pray- 
er together,  morning  .and  evening,  althougli  a 
book  of  prayers  was  commonly  used. 

On  Sunday  morning,  Mrs.  Howell  went  to 
Torre  Churclv  At  tlie  commencement  of  the 
Litany,  it  startled  her  to  hear  tlie  name  of  her 
husband  read  out  as  a  sick  person  desiring  the 
prayers  of  the  Church;  and,  on  inquiry  after- 
ward?:,  she  found  this  had  been  done  at  his  own 
solicitation.  He  had  written  a  note  to  the  Rev. 
J.  Blackmore,  the  officiating  curate,  in  which  he 
requested  to  be  publicly  prayed  for,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  hoped  Mr.  Blackmore  would  visit 
him. 

Every  thing  now  indicated  that  Mr.  Howell 
was  in  earnest.  He  read  the  Bible  diligently, 
with  a  wish  to  understand  it.  His  correspond- 
ence with  his  friends  at  Bath  ,did  not  entirely 
omit  the  mention  of  literary  and  scientific  sub- 
jects ;  but  it  was  characterised  by  this  new  fea- 
ture, that  he  intimated,  without  disguise  or  re- 
serve, the  dangerous  condition  to  which  he  was 
reduced,  and  his  desire  to  seek  for  consolation  in 
religion.  As  he  himself  confessed  on  a  dying 
bed,  the  first  chastisement  laid  upon  him  by  his 
heavenly  Father  was  not. severe  enough.  He  was 
not  sufficiently  humbled  ;  nor  had  he  been  brought 
to  any  real  and  permanent  contrition.  But  now 
he  was  sorely  chastened  ;  and  it  was  the  chasten- 
ing of  a  loving  Father,  who  designed  to  bless,  and 
not  to  curse — to  pardon,  and  not  to  punish  ;  and 
who,  by  means  of  chastisement,  was  about  to 
5* 


54 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


impart  to  this  wanderer  the  spirit  of  adoption,  and 
to  prepare  him  for  enjoying  the  privileges  of  the 
heavenly  family.  Whilst  God  laid  him  low 
under  the  rod  of  disease,  he  seemed  to  be  address- 
ing him  in  the  very  words  of  remonstrance, 
which  of  old  he  put  into  the  mouth  of  his  pro- 
phet, "  Wherefore  do  ye  spend  money  for  that 
which  is  not  bread  1  and  your  labour  for  that 
which  satisfieth  not"?  Hearken  diligently  unto 
me,  and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good,  and  let  your 
soul  dehght  itself  in  fatness.  Inchne  your  ear, 
and  come  unto  me :  hear,  and  your  soul  shall 
live."  God  had  purposes  of  mercy  towards  him, 
and  was  softening  his  heart  under  this  remon- 
strance, and  openinoj  his  ear  to  welcome  the  gra- 
cious invitation,  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth, 
come  ye  to  the  waters ;  and  he  that  hath  no  mo- 
ney, come  ye,  buy  and  eat ;  yea,  come,  buy  wine 
and  milk,  without  money,  and  without  price." 
Isaiah,  Iv.  1,  2. 

Dr.  Tetley  renewed  his  professional  attendance 
on  Mr.  Howell.  He  found  that  the  insidious  dis- 
ease which  preyed  on  him  had  made  rapid  pro- 
gress ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  cheer- 
ing earnestness  for  instruction  in  divine  things, 
and  for  the  experience  of  their  power  on  his  own 
heart,  such  as  had  not  been  manifested  at  any 
period  of  his  former  visit  to  Torquay.  The  doc- 
tor saw  him  daily,  and  was  encouraged  by  his 
subdued  and  teachable  spirit,  to  hope  that  a  time 
of  blessing  was  at  hand.  Mr.  Blackmore  also 
visited  hira  frequently ;   and  he  has  told  me  he 


PROGRESS   OF  DISEASE.  55 

took  great  pleasure  in  conversing  with  Mr.  How- 
ell. Although  his  spiritual  progress  was  not  as 
yet  very  marked,  still  he  always  found  in  him  a 
singularly  interesting  and  hopeful  inquirer  after 
the  way  of  life  which  the  Gospel  reveals.  The 
subjects  on  which  they  chiefly  conversed  were 
the  amazing  love  of  God  to  sinners,  displayed  in 
the  gift  of  his  Son  for  our  salvation,  and  the 
atonement  for  sin  which  was  effected  by  the  Sa- 
viour's humiliation  and  death  on  our  account. 
These  were  the  grand  consoling  truths  that  now 
supremely  engaged  his  thoughts,  and  the  contem- 
plation of  which  tended  to  tranquillise  his  agitated 
mind.  But  as  yet  he  had  not  obtained  a  spiri- 
tual discernment  of  them,  nor  had  his  faith  so 
embraced  them  as  to  give  him  a  peaceful  and  sa- 
tisfying hope  of  his  own  forgiveness  and  accept- 
ance with  God. 

After  a  few  weeks  he  considerably  recovered 
in  health  and  in  spirits.  He  got  out  in  a  bath- 
chair  to  enjoy  the  open  air,  and  the  lovely  land- 
scapes that  met  the  eye  at  every  turn.  He  even 
gained  strength  sufficient  to  walk  short  distances; 
and  he  greatly  rejoiced  in  being  able  to  go  to 
Torre  Church,  where  he  gave  public  thanks  to 
God  for  what  he  had  experienced  of  his  goodness. 
But,  as  the  season  advanced,  he  again  relapsed. 
After  his  removal  to  Torquay  for  the  winter,  he 
only  once  attended  divine  service,  although  his 
residence  was  close  to  Trinity  Church.  He  now 
declined  rapidly ;  and  he  was  entirely  confined  to 


56  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

bed  towards  the  end  of  November,  when  my  ac- 
quaintance with  him  commenced. 

At  this  important  crisis,  the  loss  of  the  strength 
which  he  had  recently  regained,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  fresh  symptoms  which  marked  tlie  pro- 
gress his  disease  was  making,  again  disappointed 
his  hopes  of  recovery,  and  deprived  him  of  the 
comparative  tranquillity  he  had  been  enjoying. 
His  inward  distress  became  great;  and  so  did  his 
anxiety  for  relief.  All  human  refuges  were  una- 
vailing. But  he  was  looking  to  God,  and  crying 
for  mercy ;  and  he  neither  looked  nor  cried  in 
vain. 

As  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  I  was 
asked  to  visit  Mr.  Howell,  in  consequence  of  the 
absence  of  other  clergymen  who  were  wont  to 
see  him  ;  and  I  was  urged  to  go,  because  he  was 
a  dying  man  who  truly  needed,  and  who  greatly 
desired,  spiritual  consolation. 

Although  I  had  not  hitherto  happened  to  meet 
Mr.  Howell,  nor  ever  heard  one  word  of  his 
splendid  talents  and  high  acquirements,  the  first 
sight  of  him  convinced  me  that  he  was  a  supe- 
rior man ;  and,  in  our  first  conversation,  there 
was  something  so  unusually  interesting  as  to 
make  me  resolve  to  keep  some  record  of  his  case; 

In  the  following 


LETTERS  RESPECTING  HIM.  57 


Series    Of    Hetters, 

there  is  preserved  a  simple  and  faithfid  statement 
of  those  divine  truths  which  were  successively 
submitted  to  his  consideration,  and  likewise  of 
the  impressions  which  their  reception  made  upon 
his  mind;  of  his  deliverance  out  of  spiritual  dark- 
ness and  distress,  and  of  his  entrance  into  the  en- 
joyment of  that  "  peace  with  God  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  which  is  the  accompaniment 
of  a  heaven-taught  faith. 

It  ought  to  be  mentioned  that  the  letters  are 
genuine^  and  thjit  they  were  not  originally  intend- 
ed for  publication  ;  but,  to  the  much-valued  friend 
and  brother  to  whom  they  were  addressed,  the 
work  of  grace  in  Mr.  Howell  aj)peared  so  pecu- 
liarly instructive,  that  he  hoped  it  might  prove  a 
blessing  to  many.  And  I  could  not  gainsay  the 
assertion,  that  the  unconstrained  communications 
of  one  friend  to  another  concerning  any  recent 
event,  have  a  freshness  and  naturalness  about 
them  that  never  can  be  imparted  to  a  more  for- 
mal narrative  drawn  up  at  a  subsequent  period. 
For  this  reason  I  have  consented  to  the  insertion 
of  the  letters  in  this  place,  although  it  may  sub- 
ject me  to  the  charge  of  bringing  myself  too  pro- 
minently into  view.  And  it  is  my  earnest  request 
that  the  reader  may  fix  his  mind  on  the  dying 
man,  and  on  the  great  truths  which  were  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation,  without  giving  a  thought  of 
any  kind  to  the  writer  of  the  letters. 


LETTER  I. 

To  the  Rev.  John  Stevenson,  Cury  Vicarage. 
Torquay,  November  28th,  1843. 

My  beloved  Friend 

You  are  not  unacquainted  with  the  peculi- 
arities of  this  place.  The  natural  beauties  of  the 
locality  have  feasted  your  taste  for  fine  scenery; 
the  kindness  of  Christian  friends  has  oft  refreshed 
your  spirit;  and  the  poor  invalids,  who  make  up 
so  large  a  portion  of  its  winter  inhabitants,  have 
called  forth  your  warmest  sympathies. 

Durins^  your  own  occasional  sojournings  here 
you  heard  of  many  cases  of  most  affecting  inte- 
rest, and  not  a  few  passed  under  your  immediate 
personal  observation.  In  the  midst  of  your  own 
suspension  from  active  duty,  I  am  well  av/are 
how  much  of  a  painful  pleasure  you  felt  in  visit- 
ing the  chambers  of  sickness  and  of  death,  and 
in  administering  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  to  your  fellow-sufferers ;  and  you  know 
that,  during  those  welcome  respites  from  severe 


INTRODUCTORY   REFLECTIONS.  59 

illness  with  which  God  is  pleased  to  favour  my- 
self, I,  also,  accordinjr  to  my  ability,  willingly 
take  a  part  in  the  work  of  comforting  the  sick, 
the  dying,  and  the  bereaved. 

Since  1  first  came  to  Torquay,  there  have  oc- 
curred many  events  which  produced  a  very  deep 
and  solemn  interest,  but  of  which  I  now  regret 
having  preserved  no  record.  Memory  is  often 
treacherous ;  and,  by  permitting  such  occur- 
rences to  sink  into  the  grave  of  obhvion,  we  de- 
prive ourselves  and  others  of  tlie  profitable  les- 
sons they  are  calculated  to  imparl.  It  is  good 
not  only  to  notice  at  the  time,  but  afterwards  to 
meditate  upon,  the  wonderful  v/orkings  of  Pro- 
vidence. The  Psalmist  says,  "  Whoso  is  wise, 
and  will  observe  these  things,  even  they  shall 
understand  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord." 
(Psalm  cvii.  v.  43 j.  And  oh,  how  blessed  it  is 
to  possess  this  understanding! — to  understand 
that  there  is  lovivg -kindness  in  all  the  doings  of 
the  Lord,  and  especially  in  His  affiictive  dispen- 
sations !  And  this  blessedness  comes  from  a 
7cise  observation  of  passing  events. 

I  have  been  led  to  these  reflections  in  conse- 
quence of  being  called  to  the  bedside  of  a  gentle- 
man on  whose  constitution  pulmonary  disease 
has  already  made  great  encroachments;  and 
whose  case,  so  far  as  it  is  yet  developed,  appears 
to  me  to  merit  something  more  particular  and 
more  permanent  than  a  tew  ephemeral  expres- 
sions of  hope  or  of  thankfulness.  And  I  write 
to  you  on  the  subject,  because  the  love  which 


60         FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

d^yells  in  your  heart  to  the  souls  of  poor  sinner?!, 
and  to  their  Saviour,  gives  me  the  assurance  of 
awakening  your  Christian  sympathies  in  behalf 
of  Mr.  Howell,  and  of  securing  your  prayers, 
that  God  may  more  and  more  prosper  our  inter- 
course. 

Mr.  Howell  has  been  at  Torre  with  his  family 
since  the  autumn.  It  is  only  within  the  last  few 
weeks  that  he  removed  down  to  Torquay  for 
greater  warmth,  and  he  took  the  house  called 
Beulah,  next  to  Trinity  Church,  in  the  hope  of 
Mrs.  Howell  getting  some  pupils.  I  had  heard 
a  good  deal  said  among  my  friends  about  this 
family,  as  their  circumstances  excited  commise- 
ration ;  but  I  had  not  met  with  them,  nor  had  I 
intended  calling,  as  my  circle  of  acquaintance  is 
already  sufficiently  large.  Our  excellent  friend 
Dr.  Tetley,  however,  came  in  to  see  me  one 
evening  last  week,  and  made  so  earnest  a  re- 
quest, that  I  could  not  refuse  promising  to  visit 
Mr.  Howell.  The  doctor  said  his  patient  was  now 
confined  to  his  bed,  and  he  feared  was  rapidly 
sinking.  Mr.  Blackmore  had  seen  him  fre- 
quently, so  long  as  he  remained  at  Torre  ;  and 
Mr.  Fayle  has  called  several  times  since  he 
came  to  Beulah.  But  now  Mr.  Fayle's  time 
and  attention  were  absorbed  in  the  dangerous 
illness  of  his  wife,  and  Mr.  Blackmore  was  from 
home  on  business.  This  was  a  plea  for  my  try- 
ing to  supply  their  place.  Moreover,  the  doctor 
represented  the  sick  man's  state  of  mind  as  pe- 


KEASONS  FOR  VISITING  IIIM.  61 

culialy  standing  in  need  of  spiritual  counsel  and 
eiicojjragement.*  He  knew  tlie  dangerous  nature 
of  his  malady  ;  and  lie  was  alive  to  the  impor- 
tance of  salvation.  But  he  did  not  seem  to 
have  an  experimental  knowledge  of  that  one 
way  of  a  sinner's  acceptance  with  God  whicli  the 
Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  reveals.  The 
clergymen  who  had  visited  him  faithfully  directed 
him  tothe  Saviour,  and  urged  him  to  rest  his  hopes 
on  Christ  alone.  This  he  complained  he  could 
not  do.  He  confessed  it  was  what  was  right, 
and  what,  indeed,  he  desired;  but  he  could  not 
believe,  and  he  felt  himself  without  comfort,  be- 
cause he  was  without  hope.  It  was  manifest, 
however,  that  he  was  an  earnest  and  anxious  in- 
quirer after  Gospel  truth,  from  many  circum- 
stances, and,  amongst  others,  from  the  effect 
produced  upon  him  by  the  doctor's  repeating 
some  little  remark  he  had  heard  from  my  lips, 
on  one  occasion  last  winter,  in  a  time  of  serious 
illness.  This  was  the  connecting  link  between 
Mr.  Howell  and  me.  His  desire  was  to  see  me, 
and  now  my  desire  was  to  see  him. 

I  had  called  at  the  door  both  on  Friday  and 
Saturday;  but  on  Sunday,  after  the  morning 
service,  I  was  for  the  first  time  admitted.  Mr. 
Howell  was  in  bed.  I  had  never  happened  to 
see  him  until  now,  and  assuredly  the  first  im- 
pression made  upon  me  will  not  soon  be  effaced. 
There  was  the  stamp  of  superior  intelligence  on 
his  countenance  ;  there  was  more  than  that ; — 
there  was  dignity  of  character,  combined  with 
6 


62  FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

great  benignity:  whilst  his  hazel  eyes,  and  long 
dark  eyelashes  ; — his  capacious  *brow,  crowned 
with  a  profusion  of  jet  black  locks ;  and  the 
scarlet  scarf  that  was  loosely  twisted  round  his 
neck,  gave  me  the  idea  of  what  is  generally  de- 
signated genius.  I  had  been  told  he  was  a  clever 
and  very  accomplished  man,  and  now  I  could 
not  doubt  it ;  and  the  miniature  picture  I  have 
sketched  will  help  your  conception  of  his  appear- 
ance, and  perhaps  increase  your  interest  in  him. 
We  entered  at  once  into  important  conversa- 
tion ;  and  I  spent  at  his  bedside  as  interesting  an 
hour  as  you  and  I  once  did  with  a  poor  man  in 
the  garden  of  Cury  Vicarage.  We  seemed  to 
know  each  other,  and  this  inspired  that  kind  of 
mutual  confidence  which  is  requisite  for  free 
and  profitable  intercourse.  He  showed  no  taste 
for  idle  words.  The  public  worship  of  God,  in 
which  I  had  been  privileged  to  engage,  and 
from  which  he  had  been  detained,  furnished  a 
natural  topic  to  begin  with.  The  sermon  I  had 
heard  preached  brought  us  more  directly  to  his 
own  views  and  prospects ;  and  we  were  now 
eagerly  occupied  with  the  fundamental  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  Howell  spoke  with  great  kindness 
of  the  Christian  friends  who  had  so  assiduously 
visited  and  instructed  him.  He  confessed  that 
his  understanding  went  along  with  their  state- 
ments, but  that  his  heart  remained  untouched. 
There  was  something  very  touching  to  me  in 
this  confession,  and  I  felt  that  it  lay  with  the 
Holy    Spirit   to  work  upon  his  heart.     At  the 


PRIMARY    CONVERSATION.  G3 

same  time,  as  the  Spirit  works  by  means  of  the 
revealed  word,  tlie  duty  which  devolved  on  me 
was,  with  the  utmost  simplicity,  to  unfold  to  him 
*' the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  secretly  praying 
that  the  Spirit  of  Truth  might  take  of  the  tilings 
of  Jesus,  and  apply  them  with  power  to  the  heart 
of  this  earnest  incpiirer. 

Now,  my  dear  brother,  I  must  mention  it  as  a 
singular  coincidence,  that  in  the  prosecution  of 
my  work  on  Doubts,  I  had  been  meditating 
much  for  the  previous  fortnight  on  imperfect  and 
inaccurate  views  of  the  Person  of  Christ,  as  one 
of  the  causes  out  of  which  doubts  arise,  and  had 
just  completed  a  letter  on  the  subject.  My  mind 
was  strongly  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that 
many  people  who  are  anxious  for  salvation  are 
kept  in  a  state  of  anxiety,  without  experiencing 
peace  or  joy  in  believing,  because  they  look  to 
the  work  which  Christ  has  accomplished,  with- 
out duly  considering  the  peculiar  and  wonderful 
constitution  of  His  Person  as  Emmanuel,  "God 
with  us,"  which  alone  fitted  him  for  the  work 
which  he  undertook  as  our  Deliverer  from  sin, 
and  death,  and  hell.  And,  therefore  by  way  of 
laying  a  good  and  solid  foundation,  I  deemed  it 
advisable  fully  to  explain  the  doctrine  of  the  in- 
carnation of  the  Son  of  God. 

You  can  imagfine  the  ground  over  which  Ave 
travelled  together,  and  the  various  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture to  which  reference  was  made.*     It  would 

*  Mrs.  Howell  has  informed  me  that  her  husband  con- 
stantly referred  to  this  conversation  on  the  humanity  of 


64  FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

fill  several  pages,  were  I  to  attempt  an  outline  of 
what  passed.  But  it  was  extremely  gratifying  to 
observe  how  completely  the  subject  arrested  his 
attention,  and  with  what  quickness  he  seized  on 
the  true  humanity  of  our  Lord,  as  connecting 
him  v.'ith  us,  and  securing  his  sympathy,  and 
altogether  qualifying  him  to  act  as  our  surety. 
The  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah  satisfied  him 
that  the  sufferings  of  the  Saviour  were  both  sacri- 
ficial and  substitutionary.  Jehovah  laid  the  ini- 
quity of  us  all  on  his  righteous  servant ;  and  on 
that  account  he  was  wounded,  and  bruised,  and 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  death.  And  now  Mr. 
Howell  saw,  in  a  light  he  had  never  done  before, 
how  this  wonderful  punishment  of  sin  in  the 
person  of  Christ  depended  on  his  taking  upon 
him  our  nature;  and,  again,  that  our  deliverance 
from  the  punishment  to  which,  as  sinners,  we 
are  exposed,  depends  upon  what  the  incarnate 
Son  of  God  has  done  in  our  stead.  Of  course 
we  conversed  about  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  also, 

our  Saviour  with  peculiar  satisfaction.  He  always  said 
it  was  the  opening  up  of  this  subject  that  led  him,  by- 
God's  blessing,  to  a  distinct  knowledge  of  the  Gospel. 
She  has  expressed  a  wish  that  the  conversation  had  been 
more  fully  preserved  in  the  letter.  A  clerical  friend,  also, 
to  whom  the  MS.  was  shown,  and  whose  judgment  is  en- 
titled to  the  highest  respect,  thought  it  might  have  been 
useful  to  others  had  the  subject  been  expanded,  and  some 
of  the  principal  texts  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the 
reader.  For  these  reasons  a  few  additional  particulars 
will  be  found  in  an  Appendix,  as  they  are  too  long  for  a 
note. 


CHRIST   MADE  PRECIOUS.  bo 

and  the  union  of  the  two  distinct  natures  in  liis 
one  person,  without  which  he  could  not  have 
been  tlie  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  nor 
could  the  shedding  of  his  blood  have  been  ef- 
fectual for  the  remission  of  sins.  But  on  the 
divinity  of  the  Saviour  I  found  him  well  establish- 
ed. The  reality,  and  the  importance,  and  the 
necessity  of  his  humanity,  had  burst  upon  him 
with  all  the  power  and  freshness  of  a  new  subject. 
He  said  it  had  never  before  been  so  fully  and 
plainly  opened  up  to  him  ;  and  the  satisfaction  it 
afforded  him  was  still  more  manifestly  dif^played 
in  the  expression  of  his  countenance  than  in  the 
language  he  employed.  It  was  truly  delightful 
to  mark  the  avidity  with  which  he  drank  in  the 
truth,  as  I  was  enabled  to  state  it,  and  how  the 
truth  commended  itself  to  his  conscience.  His 
teachableness  struck  me  very  particularly.  There 
was  no  disposition  to  start  objections,  nor  any  of 
that  captiousness  which  one  has  so  often  to  encoun- 
ter in  dealing  with  men  of  talent ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  rejoiced  at  God's  word  "  as  one  that 
findeth  great  spoil." 

It  is  a  sure  step  in  advance  towards  the  attain- 
ment of  Christian  peace,  hope,  and  joy,  when  a 
person,  under  the  consciousness  of  guilt,  and 
with  enlightened  views  of  the  holiness  of  the 
divine  character  and  df  the  Gospel  scheme  of  sal- 
vation, makes  the  discovery  how  sin  is  effectually 
punished,  and  yet  the  sinner  himself  is  eternally 
saved.  It  removes  difficulties  which  appear  to 
him  to  have  been  insurmouirtable,  and  imparts  a 
G* 


(jQ         FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

satisfying  blessedness  to  his  soul,  when  he  beholds 
how  "God  is  just,"  and  at  the  same  time  the"justi- 
fierof  him  whoheheveth  in  Jesus."  And  I  thank- 
fully cherished  the  persuasion,  that  these  were  the 
circumstances  into  which  Howell  was  brought. 
*'  The  wind  blowelh  where  it  listeth  ;"  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  v/orketh  when,  and  where,  and  how 
he  pleaseth. 

Our  conversation  had  ranged  over  a  variety  of 
topics;  all  of  them  aided  in  pointing  out  in  v/hat 
the  Gospel  salvation  consisted,  and  how  it  has 
been  freely  procured  for  us,  and  the  means  by 
which  its  inestimable  blessings  become  ours. 
But  the  one  centre  from  whence  all  these  topics 
emanated,  and  into  which  they  all  again  converg- 
ed, was  "  God  manifested  in  the  flesh.'''*  This  is 
declared  by  the  inspired  apostle  to  be  "  the  great 
mystery  of  godhness,"  because  it  explains  how 
infinitely  God  hates  sin,  and  how  marvellously 
he  has  loved  his  sinful  creatures.  And  it  seemed 
to  me  that  Howell  understood  this  mystery,  and 
believed  it,  and  felt  its  life-giving  power. 

You  Vv^ill  not  accuse  me  either  of  presumption 
or  enthusiasm  when  I  express  my  conviction, 
that  the  Holy  Spu'it  had  equally  guided  me  in 
speaking  and  him  in  hearing,  and  that  there  was 
and  would  be  a  blessing.  We  did  not  separate 
without  kneeling  at  the  footstool  of  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  asking  from  the  God  of  all  grace,  in 
the  name  of  our  glorified  High-Priest,  that 
measure  of  blessing  which  should  redound  to  his 
own  glory. 


DEEP  DISTRESS  OF  MIND.  G7 

I  did  not  find  it  convenient  to  call  yesterday, 
nor  did  it  seem  to  be  necessary;  but  in  the  even- 
ing, about  nine  o'clock,  just  as  I  bad  concluded 
family  worsbip  witb  tbe  friends  wbo  lod<re  in  the 
same  bouse  wiib  me,  tbe  door- bell  rang;,  and  Mrs. 
Howell  was  ushered  in.  She  bad  come  at  tbe 
solicitations  of  her  husband,  who  had  been  labour- 
ing for  some  hours  under  deep  distress  of  mind, 
and  wished  particularly  to  see  me.  Tbe  call  of 
duty  was  imperative.  I  instantly  accompanied 
her.  On  entering  bis  bedchamber,  Howell  flung 
out  bis  arms  across  the  bed,  and  grasped  my 
hand  with  a  cordiality  and  firmness  that  s})oke 
more  powerfully  than  words  how  thankful  he 
was  to  see  me.  But  he  could  not  speak,  and  his 
fine  countenance  was  expressive  of  inward  agony : 
it  was  quite  an  appalling  spectacle.  I  silently 
gazed  upon  him  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  then 
said,  "God  is  our  refuge  in  every  time  of  distress 
and  trouble.  Before  we  attempt  to  converse  with 
each  other,  we  bad  best  cast  ourselves  upon  God. 
If  you  please,  we  will  pray  for  his  presence  with 
us,  for  bis  guidance,  his  d<-liverance,  and  for  his 
blessing."  The  distressed  man  signified  his 
approval.  During  the  prayer,  which  had  special 
reference  to  his  case,  it  was  very  afi'ecting  to  be 
continually  interrupted  with  his  whispered  "  Yes, 
yes!"  "Amen,  amen  !"  joined  with  the  sobs  and 
responses  of  his  wife.  We  were  very  earnest  in 
our  supplications  ;  and  while  we  were  yet  speak- 
ing, it  happened  to  us,  as  to  Daniel  of  old,  that 
God  heard,  and  answered.     Indeed,  I  never  was 


68  FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

SO  sensible  of  an  immediate  answer  to  prayer. 
On  rising  from  my  knees,  and  opening-  my  eyes 
on  Howell,  I  found  him  greatly  soothed.  His 
countenance  had  regained  its  usual  placidity; 
and  from  a  low  and  feeble  voice,  in  which  at  first 
he  spoke,  by  degrees  he  gathered  strength  and 
animation.  He  mentioned  how  great  his  enjoy- 
ment of  spiritual  comfort  had  been  after  my  visit 
on  Sunday.  He  acknowledged  that  he  never  in 
all  his  life  had  experienced  such  pure  happiness; 
it  was  like  an  anticipation  of  the  joys  of  heaven. 
This  elevated  state  of  religious  feeling  continued 
uninterrupted  the  whole  of  Sunday  afternoon  and 
evening,  during  the  midnight  hours,  and  through- 
out the  forenoon  of  Monday.  The  excitement 
connected  with  this  great  and  joyful  change  had 
borne  hard  oc  his  debilitated  frame.  As  the  day 
advanced,  he  sank  into  great  exhaustion  ;  and, 
amidst  this  weakness  of  body,  what  he  described 
as  "  a  cloud  of  horrible  darkness"  enveloped  his 
mind.  He  could  not  believe  anything.  The 
truths  which  had  been  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of 
his  heart  vanished  from  his  hold  like  unsubstan- 
tial shadows.  All  his  hopes  and  consolations 
had  suddenly  fled.  And  so  terrible  was  the  in- 
ward conflict  to  which  he  had  been  subjected, 
that  he  used  the  liberty  of  sending  for  me. 

I  listened  to  this  narrative  with  intense  interest. 
It  taught  me  that  a  real  work  and  a  great  work  was 
going  forward  in  this  sick  man's  soul.  The  good 
Spirit  had  sown  and  watered  the  good  seed,  which 
had  already  sprung  up,  and  was  bringing  forth  the 


RENEWED  INWARD  CONFLTCT.  69 

holy  friiits  of  love,  and  joy,  and  peace:  and  the 
wicked  one  had  been  attemptinLS  not  merely  to 
blight  and  blast,  but  to  uproot  and  destroy.  1  could 
renard  the  "  cloud  of  horrible  darkness  "  in  no 
other  li«rht  than  thatofSiitaiiic  temptation.  How- 
ell's experience  enabled  him  to  say  with  the 
Psalmist,  "  The  entrance  of  thy  words  giveth 
light."  Ilis  inquisitive  and  Inghly  cultivated 
mind  had  just  been  gratified  by  a  wonderful  ac- 
cession of  knowledge,  and  of  that  kind  of  know- 
ledge which  was  far  more  precious  than  rubies  to 
a  dying  man.  This  cast  a  bright  gleam  of  sun- 
shine around  his  path  and  his  prospects,  and 
made  him  happy  ;  but  "the  Prince  of  Darkness" 
used  his  crafts  and  assaults  to  extinguish  the 
heavenly  light,  and  to  counteract  the  good  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  a  time,  it  would  appear, 
he  had  succeeded;  but  the  "terrible  conflict" 
which  agonised  the  mind  of  Howell  was  a  very 
satisfactory  proof  how  highly  he  prized  that  light 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ,  with  which  God  had  shone  upon 
him,  and  how  ardently  he  desired  its  continuance, 
and  how  intensely  he  was  affected  by  its  tempo- 
rary withdrawal.  This,  I  doubt  not,  will  appear 
to  you,  as  it  did  to  me,  to  evidence  his  sincerity 
in  seeking  after  Gospel  truth,  and  the  unspeaka- 
ble value  he  attached  to  its  possession.  And, 
painful  as  this  conflict  was,  I  believe  it  was  a 
wisely  permitted  stroke  of  discipline  to  remind 
my  new  friend  that  as  it  was  not  by  dint  of  his 
own  application,  nor  in  the  exercise  of  his  own 


70         FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

natural  abilities,  that  he  had  acquired  the  know- 
ledge of  salvation,  so  neither  could  he  of  himself 
retain  what  God  in  sovereign  mercy  had  im- 
parted. This  was  a  most  useful  lesson  to  him  at 
the  commencement  of  his  new  career  as  a  be- 
liever in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.* 


*  Since  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Howell  has  ex- 
plained to  me,  that  the  distress  into  which  he  sank  on 
this  occasion,  and  the  darkness  which  overspread  his 
mind,  was  connected  with  deep  conviction  of  sin.  As 
she  sat  by  him,  endeavouring  to  administer  comfort,  he 
complained  that  he  could  not  remember  what  had  been 
said  to  him  the  day  before :  he  could  not  keep  hold  of  it. 
And,  suddenly  throwing  both  his  hands  upon  his  head,  he 
exclaimed,  "  Oh  !  I  have  been  a  great  sinner  /"  and  the 
tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks.  Under  this  overwhelming 
sense  of  sin,  he  lost  hope,  and  became  disconsolate. 
Mrs.  Howell  was  overwhelmed  too.  She  felt  there  was 
something  beyond  her  power  to  mitigate  or  remove ;  and 
in  these  painful  circumstances  they  both  thought  of  ap- 
plying to  me. 

I  am  still  of  opinion  that  Howell's  spiritual  darkness  and 
distress  were  the  work  of  our  "  adversarj^,  the  devil,  who, 
as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour."  The  conviction  of  sin  is  the  province  and  the 
prerogative  of  God's  own  Spirit,  who  is  called  "  the  Com- 
forter," and  whose  special  work  it  is  to  lighten  our  dark- 
ness. And  that  Howell's  convictions  should  have  been  so 
deep  and  so  overwhelming  is  peculiarly  satisfactory.  It 
is  strictly  consistent  with  his  high  conscientiousness,  and 
his  strong  love  of  truth.  Whenever  he  saw  sin  to  be  sin- 
ful, he  utterly  loathed  it ;  and  when  he  felt  himself  to  be  a 
sinner,  he  sank  into  the  very  depths  of  sorrow  and  self- 
abasement.  He  was  tempted  to  look  away  from  Christ  at 
the  time  he  most  needed  him,  and  hence  his  distress.  But 
he  was  a  man  of  the  greatest  natural  amiability,  and  his 


RECOURSE  TO  THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  71 

I  sat  beside  him  till  half- past  ten  o'clock.  It 
is  vain  to  argue  with  people  who  are  in  the  dis- 
tressing condition  in  whicii  I  found  Howell.  I 
briefly  stated  to  him  what  I  liave  just  stated  to 
you,  as  my  opinion  of  the  origin  and  design  of 
the  dark  cloud  which  had  frowned  upon  him.  I 
thankfully  observed  that  its  blackness  was  al- 
ready somewhat  brightened ;  and  instead  of 
making  his  own  distress  the  subject  of  conversa- 
tion, I  asked  for  a  Bible,  and  read  a  portion  of 
the  sixth  chapter  of  St.  John.  The  introduction 
of  light  is  the  only  way  to  dispel  darkness.  The 
word  of  God  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  that 
is  the  weapon  wherewith  we  shall  most  surely 
scare  away  all  spiritual  enemies.  We  spoke  of 
the  Son  of  God  as  the  alone  food  of  an  immortal 
soul — the  bread  of  life — of  which,  if  a  man  eat, 
he  shall  never  hunger.  This  supplied  sublime 
materials  for  thought,  and  placed  before  him  the 
true  object  of  that  fahh  which  sanctifies  and 
saves.  We  spoke  also  with  considerable  large- 
ness on  the  repeated  declarations  of  our  Lord  re- 
moral  character  was  unblemished  in  the  sisjht  of  men. 
This  was  a  snare  out  of  which  he  must  be  brought.  It 
was  necessary  that  he  should  see  his  own  sinfulness  in  the 
sight  of  God;  and  I  doubt  not  that  his  experience  that  eve 
ning  prepared  the  way  for  his  more  thoroughly  apprecia- 
ting "  the  great  salvation." 

This  fact,  which  Mrs.  Howell  has  communicated,  adds 
interest  to  the  narrative,  and  furnishes  another  evidence 
of  the  reality  of  that  "  repentance  toward  God  and  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  which  her  husband  experienced 
and  exhibited. 


72  FIRST  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

specting  tlie  "  will  of  the  Father," — see  verses 
37 — 40.  To  do  that  will  the  Son  became  incar- 
nate ;  and  in  the  accomplishment  of  that  will 
sinners  become  the  heirs  of  eternal  life.  This 
led  us  to  the  fountain-head  of  God's  love.  Here 
was  a  theme  of  fathomless  depth  and  of  immeas- 
urable height.  Salvation  was  wholly  to  be  as- 
cribed to  sovereign  grace,  a  doctrine  most  hum- 
bling to  the  proud,  the  self-conceited,  and  the 
self-righteous ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  most  en- 
couraging to  the  anxious  inquirer  and  to  the 
humble  penitent.  "  Whosoever  cometh  unto  me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

Thus  we  talked  on  and  on,  and  the  disconso- 
late man  forgot  his  sorrows.  We  talked  of 
Christ,  and  "  the  light  of  life  "  began  to  shine 
upon  him  ;  we  still  talked  of  Christ,  and  he 
found  him  to  be  his  nourishment  and  strength,  his 
balm  and  consolation. 

When  I  left  Howell  his  mind  was  as  tranquil 
and  peaceful  as  could  be  desired.  I  retired 
praising  God  for  his  goodness.  This  morning  I 
have  not  seen  him,  but  the  answer  returned  to  a 
message  of  inquiry  was  that  he  had  had  some  re- 
freshing sleep,  and  felt  comfortable.  He  request- 
ed me  not  to  call  till  the  afternoon,  as  that  is  the 
lime  of  day  he  is  apt  to  sink,  and  it  is  the  time 
when  his  wife  is  obliged  to  leave  him. 

I  feel  pretty  confident  that  the  perusal  of  this 
letter  will  not  exhaust  your  patience,  and  that  so 
far  from  complaining  of  its  great  length,  you  will 
desire  the  receipt  of  another.     You  may  expect 


EFFECT  OF  BLESSING  ON  THE  WORD.  73 

to  hear  again  in  a  few  days  ;  meantime  let  me 
entreat  you*  to  pray  for  dear  Howell,  that  he  may 
grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  God 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Pray  also  for  me, 
that  I  may  be  divinely  guided  in  all  my  inter- 
course with  this  interesting  and  hopeful  invalid, 
so  as  to  be,  in  the  hand  of  God,  an  instrument  of 
good  to  his  precious  soul. 

And    now    adieu.     May   the    light   of  God*s 
countenance  ever  cheer  you  onward  amidst  all 
present  ailments  and  all  ministerial  obstacles. 
Believe  me  most  affectionately,  &c. 

P.  S.  I  should  be  sorry  if  I  have  expressed 
myself  so  as  to  impress  you  with  the  idea  that  the 
happy  effect  produced  on  Howell's  mind  was  at- 
tributable to  my  having  stated  truths  with  which 
he  was  previously  altogether  unacquainted.  We 
know  very  well  that  before  the  natural  man  can 
really  understand  the  Scriptures,  his  understand- 
ing must  be  opened.  This  is  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  I  believe  the  Spirit  did  work 
with  Howell  during  my  conversation  with  him, 
and  by  means  of  those  particular  truths  on  which 
we  conversed.  I  believe  the  Spirit  worked  on 
these  occasions  with  a  power  which  this  earnest 
inquirer  had  not  before  experienced.  Thus  it 
was  that  he  no  longer  complained  of  inability  to 
believe.  His  understanding  was  opened;  and 
because  he  understood  the  truth,  he  believed  it ; 
and  because  he  believed  it,  he  was  made  a  par* 
taker  of  its  divine  consolations. 
7 


LETTER  II. 

To  the  Rev.  John  Stevenson,  Cury  Vicarage. 

Torquay,  December  2,  1843. 
My  very  Dear  Friend, 

I  know  that  my  letter  of  last  Tuesday  will  have 
awakened  your  interest  in  Mr.  Howell,  and  that 
you  will  be  pleased  to  have  some  further  details 
of  his  case. 

On  Tuesday,  after  dinner,  I  sat  at  his  bedside 
for  an  hour  and  a  half.  We  were  entirely  alone, 
as  Mrs.  Howell  is  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  af- 
ternoon. I  found  him  beautifully  composed.  He 
had  had  no  return  of  spiritual  darkness  or  dis- 
tress. He  had  been  occupied  with  much  reflec- 
tion on  the  truths  which  were  stated  to  him  on 
the  previous  day ;  and  I  could  easily  perceive 
how  great  had  been  his  progress  in  the  compre- 
hension of  divine  things  under  the  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  ought  to  inform  you  that  natural- 
ly he  is  of  a  very  reflective  turn  of  mind  ;  he  is  a 
deep  thinker  on  every  subject  that  catches  his  at- 


ON    REGENERATION.  7o 

tention  ;  and  at  present  he  certainly  manifests  an 
extraordinary  degree  of  inquisitiveness  and  docili- 
ty in  regard  to  tiie  truths  of  the  Gospel. 

Of  his  own  accord,  and  almost  immediately  on 
my  being  seated,  he  referred  to  our  Lord's  con- 
versation with  Nicodemus,as  recorded  in  St.  John, 
chap,  iii.,  and  expressed  his  conviction  that  the 
beinj^  "  born  again,"  which  our  Lord  declares  to 
be  indispensable  to  admission  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  must  mean  some  thorough  and  radidlil 
change  in  a  man's  views  and  character.  "  But," 
he  added,  "  when  such  a  change  is  effected,  don't 
you  think  there  will  be  the  consciousness  of  it  ?" 
I  saw  that  in  propounding  this  question  he  had 
himself  in  view ;  and,  therefore,  with  the  desire 
of  satisfying  his  mind  on  this  very  practical  point, 
I  explained  our  natural  condition  as  alienated 
from  God  and  from  holiness,  having  neither  un- 
derstanding of  divine  tilings  nor  relish  for  them  ; 
and  as  there  were  at  least  some  people  to  be 
found  in  every  place  who  noio  delighted  in  God 
and  in  his  service,  and  who  did  have  a  know- 
ledge both  of  the  evil  nature  of  sin  and  of  the 
salvation  which  is  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  it 
was  obvious  that  a  great  change  had  passed  on 
them.  I  spoke  of  what  is  called  conversion  as 
a  reality,  which  is  only  scorned  or  laughed  at  by 
those  who  are  strangers  to  it;  and  I  mentioned 
that  there  were  still  such  things  as  sudden  con- 
versions, although,  in  general,  the  work  went  on 
gradually,  as  from  the  morning  dawn  to  the  per- 
fect day.     I  dwelt  on  the  case  of  Saul  of  Tarsus 


76       SECOND  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

at  some  length,  and  the  whole  circumstances 
riveted  his  attention.  I  then  said,  "  In  reference 
to  yourself,  it  appears  to  me  that,  ahhough  the 
work  has  not  been  so  instantaneous  or  complete, 
nor  accompanied  with  any  miraculous  lights  or 
sounds,  yet  you  have  nevertheless  undergone  a 
change  similar  in  its  object  and  tendency  to  that 
which  made  the  blasphemer  of  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  the  cruel  murderer  of  his  saints,  one  of  his 
most  faithful  and  devoted  servants.  You  now 
know  and  acknowledge  that  Jesus  is  your  Lord 
and  your  God,  and  from  the  desire  to  serve  him 
your  language  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  the 
newly-converted  sinner,  *  Lord  !  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  V  "  To  this  discourse  and  its  ap- 
phcation  to  himself  he  Hstened  with  unbroken  si- 
lence. His  expressive  countenance  indicated 
how  carefully  he  was  pondering  every  sentence. 
At  last  he  said,  "  I  do  feel  that  a  great  change 
has  taken  place."  It  seemed  an  effort  to  make 
this  acknowledgment,  but  from  the  moment  it  was 
made  he  has  continued  to  bless  God  for  his  won- 
drous mercy  and  forbearance  towards  him. 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  great  was  my  happiness 
when  the  poor  dying  man  ceased  to  complain  of 
inability  to  believe  that  Christ  had  died  for  him, 
and  of  doubt  respecting  his  own  salvation.  It 
was  a  release  from  captivity,  and  brought  him 
into  the  enjoyment  of  "  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
sons  of  God,"  when  he  confessed  himself  to  be  a 
partaker  of  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus; — 
when  he  openly  acknowledged  that  there  was 


ACCOUNT  OP  HIS  PAST  LIFE.  77 

such  a  change  in  his  own  rehgious  viev/^s,  and 
feeling's,  and  desires,  as  testified  the  truth  of  his 
having  been  "  born  from  above."  This  was  a 
mighty  step  in  advance  ;  for,  so  soon  as  he  felt 
the  quickeiiing  power  of  Christian  principles,  and 
professed  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his  own  Sa- 
viour, his  heart  became  warm  with  love  to  that 
Saviour  who  had  first  loved  him,  and  so  loved 
him.  And  as  it  is  true  that  "  out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh,"  so  the 
hps  of  Howell  were  opened  to  "  show  forth  the 
praises  of  Him  who  had  called  him  out  of  dark- 
ness into  his  marvellous  light."  (I  Pet.  ii.  9.) 

He  now  began  to  give  a  sketch  of  his  former 
life.  From  a  child,  he  said,  he  had  felt  an  inor- 
dinate thirst  for  knowledge  of  all  kinds.  Of 
course  he  had  studied  hard  in  the  way  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  even  after  he  was  established  in  prac- 
tice, his  ardour  in  the  prosecution  of  literature 
and  science  was  unabated.  He  rose  early  and 
sat  up  late  ;  and,  with  shame  and  sorrow,  he 
confessed  that  the  Sunday  had  been  too  often 
spent  in  his  laboratory,  making  experiments  in 
chemistry.  Sometimes  he  went  to  church,  but 
he  did  not  go  as  a  humble  and  devout  worship- 
per ;  the  object  in  view  was  generally  to  hear 
some  celebrated  preacher.  He  also  read  books 
of  theology,  and  had  a  particular  liking  for  con- 
troversial divinity;  but  it  was  merely  to  enlarge 
his  stock  of  knowledge.  All  this  time  he  lived 
free  from  those  gross  vices  in  which  he  saw  others 
around  him  indulging.  He  was  opposed  to  scep- 
7* 


78       SECOND  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

ticism,  to  materialism,  to  Unitarianism.  In  the 
application  of  his  intellectual  powers  to  philoso- 
phical and  scientific  pursuits  he  thought  he  was 
living  a  rational  life,  and  he  was  very  well  pleased 
with  himself.  About  a  year  ago,  from  overwork- 
ing both  mind  and  body,  he  began  to  break  down  ; 
there  were  symptoms  of  tenderness  in  the  chest. 
He  took  the  advice  of  Dr.  Morgan,  in  Bath,  who 
was  a  pious  man,  and  with  whom  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  converse  on  religious  subjects. 
Howell  went  on  to  say,  "  The  doctor  used  al- 
ways to  be  dropping  some  little  word  of  instruc- 
tion or  warning,  and  it  had  all  the  more  weight 
with  me  as  I  knew  him  to  be  a  sincere  and  con- 
sistent character.  At  the  same  time,  nothing  he 
said  made  any  deep  or  lasting  impression  on  me. 
My  mind  was  still  engrossed  with  my  favourite 
studies,  and  towards  the  latter  end  of  May  I  came 
to  Torquay  for  change  of  climate.  There,  in  the 
house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stathan,  with  whom  I  had 
some  acquaintance  through  the  introduction  of  a 
friend,  I  met  with  Mr.  Tetlcy,  and  in  this  way  I 
was  induced  to  ask  his  professional  advice.  I 
found  him  just  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Morgan.  He 
showed  me  great  kindness  and  took  e\ery  oppor- 
tunity of  directing  me  to  the  Saviour.  And  now 
I  can  see  how  much  there  was  of  the  goodness  of 
God  in  casting  me  into  the  hands  of  these  pious 
physicians.     Surely  it  was  God's  own  doing." 

Howell  remained  at  Torquay,  and  recovered 
his  health  amazingly.  He  returned  to  Bath  to 
resume  his  practice.     He  found  a  great  arrear  of 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  /t) 

work.  He  devoted  liimsclf  too  intensely  to  his 
multifarious  pursuits;  and  he  had  not  been  home 
more  than  five  or  six  weeks  wlien  his  lieaUh  was 
again  very  seriously  impaired.  As  the  result  of 
a  consultation,  he  was  now  ordered  to  break  up 
his  establishment  entirely,  and  retire  for  three 
years  to  a  genial  climate.  Torquay  had  done  so 
much  for  him  before,  that  he  came  back  in  Au- 
gust, bringing  his  family  with  him ;  but,  instead 
of  recovering  as  formerly,  lie  has  gradually  been 
losing  ground. 

Poor  fellow !  at  the  conclusion  of  this  little 
history,  he  honestly  admitted  that  the  first  chas- 
tisement of  his  heavenly  Father  had  not  been  se- 
vere enough.  Had  he  been  able  to  prosecute 
his  medical  profession,  he  felt  assured  that  the 
warning  he  had  received  would  have  been  lost 
upon  him;  that  he  would  have  forgotten  God,  and 
continued  to  neglect  his  salvation.  Now  he 
blesses  God  for  withdrawing  him  from  the  snares 
of  science  and  of  human  knowledge  ;  remarking, 
however,  and  very  justly,  that  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge  is  in  itself  laudable ;  but  in  his  case 
it  had  been  carried  to  an  extent  which  he  now 
saw  to  have  been  sinful,  inasmuch  as  it  excluded 
higher  objects  from  that  attention  they  deserve. 
The  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God,  and  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  whom  he  hath  sent,  is  forced  upon 
him  as  of  paramount  importance.  And  note  this 
is  the  department  of  knowledge  which  engages 
his  uncommonly  active  and  intelligent  mind. 

That  afternoon,  instead  of  spending  time  in 


80       SECOND  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

further  explanation  of  what  the  Gospel  is  (which 
I  had  largely  done  on  Sunday  and  Monday,)  I 
spoke  of  its  effects :  of  the  peace  of  mind  and 
peace  with  God  which  it  yields;  of  the  holy  joy, 
and  animating  hopes,  with  which  it  fills  the 
soul ;  of  its  power  to  purify  the  heart  from  the  love 
of  sin,  to  strengthen  us  for  duty,  to  support  us 
under  trial,  and  to  administer  abundant  consola- 
tion amidst  all  the  afflictions  of  life.  In  short,  I 
showed  how  it  brings  us  into  fellowship  with  God, 
and  both  disposes  and  enables  us  to  live  to  his 
glory,  as  reasonable,  and  responsible,  and  im- 
mortal, and  redeemed  creatures.  It  would  have 
rejoiced  your  heart  to  see  how  readil}^  and  cheer- 
fully he  responded  to  all  that  was  said.  He  had 
the  happy  consciousness  that  these  were  in  some 
measure  the  effects  which  the  belief  of  the  Gos- 
pel was  producing  on  himself  You  will  recol- 
lect what  St.  Paul  says  in  writing  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  of  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  bringing  forth 
fi*uit,  since  the  day  they  heard  and  knew  the 
grace  of  God  in  truth  (Col.  i.  3-6.)  The  fruit 
begins  immediately  with  the  faith.  Thus  it  was 
with  Howell  and  he  felt  himself  as  in  a  new 
world.  We  had  much  elevated  and  interesting 
conversation  on  the  mysteries  of  grace,  and  on 
the  wonders  of  redeeming  love  ;  and,  when  we 
addressed  the  God  of  salvation  in  prayer,  there 
was  a  great  call  for  thanksgiving  in  connexion 
with  our  supplications.  I  left  him  all  animation, 
and  very  happy. 

On  Wednesday  afternoon  I  again  sat  with  him 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  81 

for  upwards  of  an  hour  and  a  half.  His  pro- 
gress in  the  divine  hfe  was  still  more  marked  : 
his  observations  were  deeply  experimental,  and 
his  whole  temper  and  spirit  were  ^heavenly  in  a 
high  degree.  During  the  preceding  part  of  the 
day  he  had  suffered  much  bodily  distress,  but  his 
mind  was  perfectly  tranquil.  I  had  recommend- 
ed the  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  to  his  serious  perusal,  as  expressing  very 
sublime  views  of  the  Saviour,  and  of  all  God's 
works  as  centering  in  him.  He  thanked  me  re- 
peatedly for  directing  him  to  this  portion  of  Holy 
Scripture.  He  said  it  had  given  rise  to  the  loft- 
iest thoughts  that  had  ever  passed  throuo^h  his 
mind,  and  had  filled  him  with  wonder.  During 
my  lengthened  visit  he  never  once  complained  of 
uneasiness  or  discomfort,  although  fomentations 
were  being  applied  all  the  time.  The  high  and 
holy  exercise  of  his  noble  faculties,  on  the  no- 
blest of  all  themes,  seemed  to  drown  or  to  drive 
away  pain;  and,  when  I  made  a  movement  for 
departure,  he  took  me  by  the  hand  and  said  he 
never  could  thank  me  enough,  et  ccBtera,  Be- 
fore engaging  in  prayer,  he  requested  me  to  make 
it  one  petition  to  God,  that  the  work  begun  in  him 
might  go  on.  He  desired  its  continuity  above  all 
things,  and  solemnly  avowed  his  purpose,  should 
his  life  be  spared,  to  live  only  to  God.  We 
spoke  of  his  wife,  who,  to  his  unspeakable  com- 
fort, evinces  fellowship  with  him  in  his  present 
feelings  and  experience  ;  and  also  of  his  three 
babes,  whom  he  would  earnestly  instruct  in  the 


82       SECOND  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

ways  of  God  ;  and  of  many  other  things,  which 
were  all  proofs  and  specimens  of  that  "  newness 
of  life"  into  which  he  had  entered.  Oh  !  my 
dear  brother,  this  was  a  sweet  season,  when  both 
of  us  experienced  something  of  that  burning  of 
the  heart  which  the  two  disciples  felt  when  Jesus 
walked  with  them  on  the  way  to  Emmaus,  and 
while  he  opened  to  them  the  prophetic  Scriptures 
concerning  his  sufferings  and  his  glory. 

On  Thursday  the  continued  happiness  he  in- 
wardly enjoyed  caused  him  to  feel  better,  as  it 
respected  his  bodily  ailments.  I  believe  it  was 
more  a  matter  of  feeling  than  any  real  amend- 
ment. But  in  him  there  was  at  this  time  a  literal 
fulfilment  of  the  scriptural  declaration,  "  The 
joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength."  (Nehemiah, 
viii.  10.) 

I  spent  part  of  the  afternoon  with  him  as  usual. 
He  had  been  reading  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians  with  great  delight.  His  wife  and  he  both 
remarked  that  they  saw  much  in  it  that  they  had 
never  seen  before  ;  indeed,  it  was  like  something 
altogether  new  to  them.  I  had  mentioned  this 
epistle  on  a  previous  day  as  well  fitted  to  engage 
and  gratify  the  reflective  mind  of  Howell,  and  to 
lead  him  into  the  very  heighths  and  depths  of 
man's  redemption.  I  read  and  commented  on 
the  remarkable  prayer  offered  up  by  St.  Paul  for 
his  Ephesian  converts,  and  which  is  recorded  in 
chap.  iii.  14-21. 

This  day  Howell  had  been  so  full  of  holy  joy, 
that  he  regretted  his  inability  to  sing;  but,  at  his 


HIS  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS.  83 

own  request,  liis  wife  had  read  to  him  the  thirty- 
fourth  Psalm  as  a  song  of  praise.  Even  in  health 
he  never  could  sing;  but  it  was  singularly  pleas- 
ing to  learn  that  he  considered  the  singing  of 
psalms  as  the  natural  expression  of  religious  joy, 
(James  v.  13.) 

Yesterday  (Friday)  the  dear  invalid  suffered 
great  bodily  discomfort,  and  laboured  under  much 
exhaustion.  This  unfavourable  change  did  not 
surprise  me,  seeing  his  mind  had  been  so  much 
exercised,  and  somewhat  under  excitement,  for 
several  days;  but  he  had  neither  clouds  nor  doubts 
to  disturb  his  peace,  or  to  obscure  his  prospects. 
He  complained,  however,  of  confusion  and  stu- 
pidity, resulting  from  the  amount  of  opiate  to 
which  he  had  necessarily  been  subjected.  He 
told  me  he  had  had  "  a  glorious  night."  His 
sleep  had  been  very  refreshing  to  him,  and  dur- 
ing the  intervals,  when  awake,  his  meditations 
had  been  sweet. 

When  I  went  to  see  him  about  four  o'clock, 
(my  customary  hour,)  I  found  Mrs.  Howell  home, 
in  consequence  of  his  requiring  more  than  usual 
nursing.  She  was  administering  some  nourish- 
ment. He  was  extremely  languid,  but  by  de- 
grees, revived  a  little.  I  read  various  short  por- 
tions of  Scripture,  and  made  observations  on 
them,  and  rather  discouraged  his  attempts  to  en- 
ter into  conversation.  But  God's  truth  commend- 
ed itself  to  his  heart  and  conscience  ;  he  felt  its 
power  and  its  comfort.  I  have  never  witnessed 
greater  desire  to  hear,  or  more  delight  in  hearing, 


84   SECOND  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

or  such  a  quick  perception  of  divine  realities. 
There  were  no  cavils,  no  objections,  no  difficulties. 
Although  in  one  sense  he  was  but  a  "  babe  in 
Christ,"  yet  he  seems  all  at  once  to  have  reached 
a  spiritual  manhood.  Many  of  his  remarks  were 
such  as  could  only  have  been  expected  from  a 
Christian  of  established  character  and  ripened  ex- 
perience. With  the  utmost  propriety  he  might 
adopt  the  prophet's  language  addressed  to  his 
God,  "  Thy  word  was  found  of  mc,  and  I  did 
eat  it  and  it  was  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my 
heart."  (Jer.  xv.  16.)  Texts  were  occasionally 
brought  to  his  remembrance,  which  he  had  read 
or  heard  in  the  days  of  his  ignorance  of  their 
meaning,  and  many  times  he  has  expressed  great 
satisfaction  to  find  me  uttering  exactly  the  same 
things  as  his  kind  friend.  Dr.  Morgan,  at  Bath 
had  done.  This  he  considered  as  a  proof  that 
the  same  Spirit  taught  the  same  truths  to  all  the 
children  of  God.  In  listening  to  his  remarks,  so 
spiritual  and  experimental,  and  in  looking  on  his 
countenance  so  brightened  with  the  gladness 
which  pervaded  his  inner  man,  I  was  induced  to 
compare  the  blessed  alteration  in  his  religious 
state  to  that  of  the  grovelling  grub  which  has  be- 
come a  winged  insect.  He  had  burst  the  shell, 
and  escaped  from  a  chrysalis  condition  :  his  soul, 
now  emancipated  from  the  dark  prison-house  of 
ignorance  and  unbelief,  was  soaring  above  sub- 
lunary things  on  the  newly  expanded  wings  of 
faith  and  hope,  and  basking  in  the  beams  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness.     This  idea  charmed  hira 


THANKFULNESS  FOR  RELIEF.  85 

exceeding-lj,  from  his  peculiar  fondness  for  natu- 
ral science.  He  said  it  was  a  beautiful  idea  ; 
and  he  rocked  his  head  on  the  pillow,  and  al- 
most wept  with  delight.  He  acknowledged  that 
for  some  time  previous  to  this  recent  change  he 
had  spiritual  life,  but  it  was  in  a  manner  dormant. 

This  has  been  a  memorable  week  in  Howell's 
history.  I  remained  nearly  two  hours  with  him  ; 
but  so  intensely  was  he  interested  in  divine  things, 
that  he  could  not  suppose  it  possible  my  visit  had 
been  half  so  long.  He  was  now  elevated  in 
spirit,  and  his  mode  of  address  had  become  very 
animated,  and  yet  he  was  quite  patient  and  sub- 
missive to  the  will  of  God.  Before  kneeling  for  a 
parting  prayer,  he  desired  me  to  thank  God  for 
the  present  revival, — he  meant  the  relief  he  ex- 
perienced at  that  moment  from  the  languor  and 
uneasiness  of  the  former  part  of  the  day,  and  the 
spiritual  refreshment  and  happiness  he  was  en- 
joying. 

This  day  (Saturday)  I  have  not  as  yet  seen  him, 
but  am  informed  he  has  passed  a  quiet  and  com- 
fortable night.  Mrs.  Howell  has  been  taken  ill. 
She  has  had  a  great  deal  of  anxiety,  nor  has  she 
been  wholly  exempt  from  excitement.  Dr.  Tet- 
ley,  however,  thinks  she  will  soon  be  well  again, 
and  that  her  husband,  to  all  human  appearance, 
may  survive  for  eight  or  ten  days.  Until  this 
day  I  have  never  happened  to  meet  the  doctor 
since  he  asked  me  to  call  on  Howell.  He  is 
much  engaged,  and  has  been  frequently  out  of 
the  town  to  see  country  patients.  He  had  no 
8 


86      SECOND  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

leisure  to  talk  about  Howell's  case ;  but,  on  men- 
tioning to  him  that  I  vras  vrriting  to  you  on  the 
subject,  he  sends  Christian  love,  and  suggests  that 
it  might  be  well  to  preserve  this  letter,  and  the 
former  one,  as  there  is  no  other  record  of  God's 
gracious  deahngs  with  this  dying  man. 

T  am  sorry  to  understand  that  the  family  is  in 
very  straitened  circumstances.  Mrs.  Howell  does 
sometimes  advert  to  this,  and,  having  been  ac- 
customed to  tuition  before  her  marriage,  is  now 
desirous  of  getting  pupils.  But  Howell  himself 
has  never  touched  that  subject  with  me.  He  has 
got  possession  of*'  the  true  riches,"  and  with  that 
durable  treasure  he  is  satisfied. 


I  shall  write  again  ere  long ;  meantime  believe 
me,  in  the  love  of  the  Spirit, 

Yours, 


LETTER  III. 

To  the  Rev.  John  Stevenson. 

Torquay,  December  15,  1843. 

My  beloved  Friend, 

With  respect  to  Mr.  Howell,  he,  too,  is  still 
alive,  and  he  lives  to  God.  I  may  say  he  hves 
with  God ;  for  all  his  thoughts  are  directed  to 
divine  subjects,  and  on  them  alone  he  delights  to 
converse. 

Last  week,  however,  was  a  kind  of  blank  in 
his  spiritual  history.  I  visited  him  daily,  but, 
owin^  to  the  causes  mentioned  in  my  last  hur- 
ried note  to  you,  we  had  little  intercommunion. 
The  diarrhoea  was  very  severe.  He  suffered 
much  from  exhaustion,  and  the  necessary  opiates 
stupified  him.  Although  unable  for  long  visits, 
he  was  glad  to  have  prayer  made  for  him,  and 
generally  expressed  something  or  another,  either 


88    THIRD  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

to  be  asked  of  God,  or  to  be  acknowledged  with 
thanksgiving. 

I  really  thought  he  was  entering  into  the  dark 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  despaired  of 
renewing  the  sweet  and  interesting  intercourse 
we  had  had  together.  In  these  apprehensions, 
however,  I  was  mistaken  :  Mr.  Howell  has  en- 
joyed some  respite  from  bodily  distress ;  and, 
although  I  cannot  say  that  the  progress  of  his 
disease  has  been  arrested,  or  that  there  is  the 
least  hope  of  recovery,  still  he  feels  himself 
better,  and  once  more  his  intelligent  mind  is  all 
activity. 

One  afternoon  (1  think  it  was  on  Tuesday), 
on  inquiring  how  he  felt  himself,  he  said,  "  Oh, 
thank  God !  I  am  very  comfortable.  I  have 
had  a  glorious  night,  and  I  have  also  had  a  glo- 
rious day.  Dm-ing  the  night  I  had  several 
hours  of  the  sweetest  sleep  that  could  be;  and, 
during  the  day,  I  have  been  reflecting  on  the 
subject  to  which  you  directed  my  attention  last 
evening.  I  see  that  there  is  a  reality,  and  an 
assurance,  and  an  actuality  in  God's  word  of 
promise,  which  invites  me  to  rest  upon  it;  and 
this  inspires  me  with  hope."  This  prologue 
was  followed  by  much  important  conversation. 
The  subject  to  which  I  had  directed  his  attention 
on  the  previous  evening  was  Heb.  vi.  16-20, — 
"  For  men  verily  swear  by  the  greater,  and  an 
oath  for  confirmation  is  to  them  an  end  of  all 
strife.  Wherein  God,  willing  more  abundantly 
to  show  unto  the  heirs  of  promise  the  immutabi- 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  HOPE.  89 

lity  of  his  counsel,  confirmed  it  by  an  oath ; 
That,  by  two  immutable  thmofs,  in  which  it  was 
impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong 
consolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold 
upon  the  hope  set  before  us :  Which  hope  we 
have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and 
steadfast,  and  which  entereth  into  that  within  the 
vail ;  Whither  the  Forerunner  is  for  us  entered, 
even  Jesus,  made  an  hiirh-priest  for  ever,  after 
the  order  of  Melchisedec."  This  passage  I  had 
read  and  commented  on.  It  was  exactly  one  of 
those  passages  likely  to  give  his  mind  some  em- 
ployment, and  to  strengthen  his  faith ;  and  re- 
collecting the  use  I  had  made  of  it  when  writing 
"  On  the  Pernicious  Influence  of  Doubts  in 
checking  and  blighting  our  Hopes  for  Eternity," 
I  carried  the  MS.  to  him,  and  read  a  few  pages 
of  it.  He  listened  with  interest.  He  said  it 
cheered  him,  and  desired  me  to  leave  it.  At  the 
same  time  I  left  with  him  a  beautiful  tract,  enti- 
tled "  The  Bliss  of  Heaven,"  which  I  had  that 
day  received  from  Major  Hall.  I  think  he 
stated  it  had  been  recommended  to  him  by  Arch- 
deacon Hare. 

The  next  time  I  saw  Howell,  a  new  symptom 
of  disease  had  manifested  itself  He  complained 
of  a  sore  throat,  and  was  just  preparing  to  apply 
a  blister.  I  had  not  seen  him  for  a  day  or  two, 
and  observed  that  there  was  now  an  air  of  great 
thoughtfulness  about  him.  I  could  read  in  his 
expressive  countenance  that  something  pressed 
upon  his  mind  which  was  impairing  his  wonted 
8* 


90    THIRD  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

peace  and  joy.  I  ^iquired  if  he  had  been  able 
to  look  at  the  MS.  He  replied  that  he  had  pe- 
rused the  first  half  of  it  with  great  care  and  plea- 
sure, and  he  felt  convinced  of  the  sinfulness  of 
doubts,  as  throwing  discredit  on  the  word  and 
promise  of  God.  He  added,  "  I  know,  also, 
from  what  I  experience,  that  doubts  will  spring 
up  unbidden,  even  when  I  am  endeavouring  to 
repress  them  ;  and  they  always  have  a  darken- 
ing and  deadening  effect.  I  suppose  they  may 
be  ascribed,  in  some  measure  to  the  weakness 
under  which  I  am  labouring ;  and,  perhaps, 
there  is  something  of  temptation  in  them."  Re- 
marks like  these  show  how  much  his  mind  is 
exercised,  and  how  personal  his  rehgion  is,  and 
how  very  correctly  he  judges  of  things  which  are 
entirely  new  to  him. 

You  can  imagine  in  what  way  I  attempted  to 
restore  the  stability  of  his  faith,  Avhich  I  perceiv- 
ed had  been  a  little  shaken.  He  then  alluded 
to  the  tract :  Mrs.  Howell  had  read  it  to  him  on 
the  evening  after  my  departure.  He  spoke  of  it 
with  rapture.  He  had  since  read  it  himself 
when  alone.  It  had  supplied  him  with  heavenly 
meditations  by  night  and  by  day.  In  speaking 
of  it  he  said,  "  I  see  that  to  be  with  Christ,  or  to 
have  Christ  with  us,  is  heaven.  The  place 
where  is  of  inferior  moment.  There  may  be 
heaven  on  earth."  This  observation  struck  me 
forcibly.  How  true !  and  what  a  delightful 
truth !  and  how  seldom  realised  !  It  furnished 
me  with  a  fine  text,  on  which  I  expatiated  for 


THE  BLISS  OF  HEAVEN.  91 

some  time.  But  Howell  was  not  elevated  by  the 
subject ;  he  looked  grave.  At  last,  after  some 
hesitation,  he  remarked,  "  I  admit  the  truth  <>\' 
all  you  have  advanced ;  there  must  be  bliss  in 
heaven,  and  it  is  delightful  to  hear  about  it.  I 
see,  also,  that  there  is  neither  heaven  nor  bliss 
for  us  without  Christ ;  and  my  own  reflections, 
suggested  by  this  little  tract,  and  by  your  con- 
versations, have  been  most  soothing,  and,  at 
times,  most  elevating  to  me.  But,  admitting  all 
this,  I  cannot  subdue  a  continually  rising  idea, 
that  it  is  premature  in  a  person  like  me  to  enter- 
tain the  hope  of  this  bliss.  All  my  former  pur- 
suits have  been  so  exclusively  of  a  worldly  cha- 
racter, and  my  whole  life  has  been  marked  by 
such  forgetfulness  of  God,  and  indifference  to  the 
salvation  which  is  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
I  wish  for  your  opinion  whether  I  am  not  de- 
ceiving myself  in  this  matter." 

To  this  humble  and  conscientious  statement  I 
listened  with  the  deepest  interest.  It  was  evident- 
ly uttered  with  reluctance,  and  yet  the  uttering 
of  it  was  a  relief  to  him.  You  will  regard  it  as 
a  fine  example  of  that  honesty  and  truthful- 
ness, of  which  there  is  so  large  a  preponder- 
ance in  his  natural  character,  and  which 
affords  such  excellent  materials  for  "  the  Spirit 
of  truth"  to  work  withal.  I  looked  at  him  with 
earnestness,  and,  instead  of  entering  upon  any 
discussion,  simply  put  the  question,  "  Do  you,  as 
a  poor,  perishing  sinner,  really,  from  the  heart, 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?"    "  Oh,  yes  !" 


92    THIRD  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

he  replied,  and  looked  somewhat  surprised  at  my 
putting  such  a  question  to  him.  "  Are  you  sure 
you  are  not  deceiving  yourself  in  this  1  Have 
you  the  consciousness  of  believing  in  him,  and 
trusting  on  him,  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  the 
Saviour  of  sinners  V  "  I  am  perfectly  conscious 
of  doing  so.  /  am  as  conscious  of  believing  in 
Christ  as  I  am  of  being  alive.''''  "  Well,  then, 
my  dear  friend,  it  is  your  faith  in  Christ,  which 
the  grace  of  God  enables  you  to  exercise,  that 
gives  you  a  relish  for  the  bliss  of  heaven ;  and 
this  relish  is  a  preparation  for  it.  You  never 
could  prepare  yourself,  even  by  a  long  life  of  re- 
pentance and  prayer,  and  such  other  services  as 
are  in  your  power  to  render.  It  is  of  importance 
to  keep  full  in  view  that  Christ  is  your  Saviour, 
and  not  your  helper.  Your  admission  into 
heavenly  bliss  depends  not  on  a  joint  work  to  be 
performed  by  him  and  by  you.  Remember  the 
words  of  St.  Paul, — 'By  grace  are  ye  saved 
through  faith  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God  :  not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should 
boast,'  (Eph.  ii.  8,  9.j  Salvation  is  wholly  of 
God's  own  free  grace.  It  is  all  his  gift ;  even 
the  faith  in  us,  through  which  we  come  to  the 
enjoyment  of  it.  Whenever  he  gives  us  grace  to 
believe,  it  cannot  be  premature  to  hope  for  what 
is  promised  and  provided.  And  there  must  be  a 
turning  point  in  the  history  of  every  man,  who  is 
brought  out  of  the  darkness  of  his  natural  con- 
dition into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  Gospel.  I 
beheve  i/ou  have  passed  that  point.''^     Here  he 


FEARS  TO  INDULGE  A  FALSE  HOPE.  93 

interrupted  me,  and  said  with  eagerness,  "I  see  it, 
I  see  it.  I  am  sensible  that  the  whole  state  of  my 
views  and  fcehngs,  in  regard  to  religion,  has  un- 
dergone a  great  change ;  but  I  only  feared  I 
might  be  indulging  a  false  hope." 

To  find  him  maintaining  such  a  watchfulness 
over  himself  filled  me  with  secret  joy,  and  made 
me  the  more  anxious  clearly  to  explain  his  war- 
rant to  participate  in  all  the  blessings  of  the  Gos- 
pel salvation  at  once,  and  without  delay.  I  quoted 
the  words  of  our  Lord, — "  He  that  believeth  on 
the  Son  hath  everlasting  life^  and  he  that  believ- 
eth not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath 
of  God  abideth  on  him  :"  also,  "  He  that  heareth 
my  word,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath 
everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  con- 
demnation, but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life"*^ 
(St.  John,  iii.  36  ;  v.  24.)  These  precious  say- 
ings set  the  whole  Gospel  before  him,  under  the 
one  term,  life  ;  and  it  was  deserving  of  special 
notice,  that  this  life  is  enjoyed  in  immediate  and 
present  connexion  with  faith.  He  that  believeth 
hath  life  ;  the  life  which  is  everlasting  begins  now  ; 
it  begins  the  moment  we  believe  in  Christ ;  this 
life  is  in  him,  and  received  from  him  ;  he  him- 
self is  our  life.  "  A  nd  you,"  I  added,  "  who  late- 
ly were  '  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,'  as  you  read 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  have  been  quick- 
ened together  with  Christ,  and  raised  up  to  'new- 
ness of  life.'  The  work  is  done  ;  your  very  faith, 
of  which  you  are  conscious,  is  a  proof  of  it.  It 
is,  in  fact,  the  effect  of  this  new  and  everlasting 


94    THIRD  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

life  having  been  imparted  to  you.  Your  faith, 
therefore,  ought  to  keep  you  in  possession  of  hfe, 
and  to  give  you  the  enjoyment  of  it ;  and  I  would 
not  have  you,  on  any  account,  to  doubt  the  reaU- 
ty  of  the  work  which  God  has  been  so  graciously 
carrying  on."  "  No,"  he  answered,  "  I  ought 
not  to  doubt, — and,  indeed,  I  cannot  doubt  it ; 
but,  if  you  will  forgive  me  using  the  expression,  I 
thought  that  your  theory  of  salvation  was  too  sim- 
ple— it  seems  too  easy  a  way  of  getting  to  hea- 
ven."*^ 

Thus  we  got  upon  new  ground,  and  I  was 
drawn  into  a  new  discourse.  I  spoke  of  the  sim- 
plicity which  distinguishes  all  the  works  of  God, 
as  contrasted  with  the  complexity  of  human  con- 
trivances, and,  as  an  eminent  naturalist,  he  caught 
the  spirit  of  this  remark,  and  felt  its  weight.  On 
every  principle  of  analogy,  the  simplicity  of  the 
Gospel  plan  of  salvation,  so  far  from  constituting 
an  objection  against  it,  is  an  evidence  in  favour 
of  its  divine  origin.  What  creature  ever  could 
have  contrived  it  ?  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  What  work  so 
great,  so  difficult,  as  the  salvation  of  sinners,  and 
yet  what  inimitable  simplicity  in  the  means  of  at- 
taining it !  But  then  we  must  not  think  only  of 
the  simple  faith  which  is  required  of  us :  we  must 
think  who  is  the  person  on  whom  we  believe. 
We  must  think  on  an  incarnate  God, — and, 
oh  !  what  a  thought  is  that !  We  must  think  on 
all  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  done  and  suf- 
fered to  procure  the  remission  of  our  sins,  and  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  SALVATION.  95 

sanctification  of  our  hearts,  and,  in  one  word,  the 
enjoyment  of  what  the  Bible  so  emphatically  calls 
LIFE.  Such  thoughts  teach  us  that  the  effect  pro- 
duced, however  great  it  is,  has  an  adequate  cause. 
And,  besides,  I  urged  him  never  to  forget,  that 
our  salvation  is  not  in  our  faith,  but  in  the  Sa- 
viour in  whom  we  believe.  Simple  faith  on  our 
part  is  what  God  has  prescribed  as  the  one  means 
or  medium  through  which  we  come  to  enjoy  the 
freely  provided  salvation.  This  is  fitted  to  hum- 
ble our  proud  and  self-righteous  hearts :  it  conti- 
nually reminds  us  that  we  have  done,  and  can 
do,  nothing  to  deliver  our  own  souls  from  the 
guilt  we  have  contracted,  and  from  the  punish- 
ment we  deserve  :  it  keeps  us  sensible  of  our  infi- 
nite obligations  to  sovereign  mercy,  and  gives  all 
the  glory  to  God,  &c.  &c.  "  Thus  you  see,"  I 
continued,  *'  that  there  is  no  defect  in  what  you 
designate  *  the  theory  of  salvation.'  It  bears  up- 
on all  its  parts  the  impress  of  divine  skill,  as  well 
as  of  divine  love.  And  may  I  not  refer  to  your- 
self as  an  illustration  of  its  practical  working  ? 
You  tell  me  every  day  how  peaceful  and  com- 
posed your  mind  is.  You  feel  relieved  from  the 
load  of  anxiety,  respecting  the  pardon  of  sin, 
which  pressed  so  heavily  on  your  spirits  ;  and  you 
acknowledge  that,  of  late,  you  have  experienced 
a  happiness  to  which  you  had  all  your  life  before 
been  a  stranger."  "  True,  very  true,"  he  ex- 
claimed. "  All  this,"  I  resumed,  "  is  the  natu- 
ral result  of  that  faith  in  the  Saviour  which  you 
are  conscious  of  exercising.     It  is  the  actings  of 


96    THIRD  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

the  new  life  which  has  been  bestowed  on  you  ;  ii 
is  the  commencings  of  that  salvation  which  is  to 
be  eternaV  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "  I  see  what 
you  mean  ;  and,  certainly,  I  do  feel  as  if  I  were 
just  beginning  to  live" 

Some  of  Mr.  Howell's  admirable  little  sayings 
I  have  recorded  verbatim.  I  know  you  will  ap- 
preciate their  power.  And  the  substance  of  what 
passed  between  us,  at  this  interview,  has  been 
sketched  with  sufficient  minuteness  to  enable  you 
to  fill  up  the  details  in  your  own  mind.  The  sub- 
jects handled  were  very  important ;  but  I  should 
not  omit  to  mention  that  I  adopted  the  method  of 
confirming  every  doctrinal  assertion  by  Scripture 
examples.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  obviating  his 
mistaken  conceptions  of  the  simplicity  of  the  Gos- 
pel salvation,  I  referred  him  to  the  case  of  Naa- 
man,  the  Syrian,  who  came  to  Elisha  to  be  healed 
of  his  leprosy.  That  diseased  heathen  expected 
some  mighty  and  extraordinary  work  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  prophet :  and  when  merely  ordered 
to  go  and  wash  seven  times  in  the  river  Jordan, 
he  was  staggered  and  oftended  by  the  very  sim- 
plicity of  the  means  proposed  for  his  recovery. 
But  he  was  brought  to  know  that  the  heahng  vir 
tue  lay  not  in  the  waters  of  Jordan,  or  in  any 
waters,  but  in  the  power  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and 
in  obedience  to  what  he  prescribed  by  the  mouth 
of  his  servant.  So,  likewise,  in  removing  the  idea 
of  prematurity  in  a  newly  converted  man's  en- 
joying Gospel  happiness,  or  indulging  the  hope 
of  heaven,  I  quoted  the  cases  of  the  gaoler  at 


SCRIPTURE  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  FAITH.  97 

Philippi,  and  of  tlie  Ethiopian  eunuch,  botli  of 
whom  rejoiced  in  the  experience  of  Gospel  bless- 
ings, from  the  very  moment  of  their  believing  the 
truths  that  were  preached  to  them.  We  find  it 
written  that  the  same  thing  happened  at  Samaria 
on  a  large  scale.  Very  many  people  believed  in 
Christ  through  the  preaching  of  Philip  ;  and  we 
read  that  "  there  icas  much  joy  in  that  city.''^ — 
And  it  was  manifest  that  these  references  to  pri- 
mitive Christianity  brought  home  the  conviction 
to  his  own  mind,  that  he  was  himself  experien- 
cing nothing  more  than  other  men  had  experi- 
enced under  similar  circumstances. 

You,  my  dear  brother,  speak  of  Howell  as  "  a 
fresh  jewel  added  to  the  Redeemer's  crown ;" 
and,  from  what  I  have  written  at  this  time,  you 
will  judge  that  he  shines  with  an  increasing  bril- 
liancy. Notwithstanding  his  high  talents,  and 
great  proficiency  in  professional  and  scientific 
knowledge,  he  talks  with  me  in  a  most  childlike 
manner  on  the  things  that  concern  his  peace ;  in- 
deed, he  evinces  as  humble  and  teachable  a  spi- 
rit as  I  have  ever  met  with.  This,  combined 
with  his  extreme  desire  for  information,  and  his 
remarkable  acuteness  and  penetration,  invests 
with  uncommon  interest  the  intercourse  I  am  pri- 
Wleged  to  hold  with  him.  His  mind  is  always 
occupied  with  something  of  importance — he  never 
trifles;  nor  does  he  now  show  any  desire  for  con- 
troversy or  disputation.  His  aim  is  to  acquire 
the  knowledge  of  those  truths  on  which  his  pre- 
sent peace  and  everlasting  safety  are  suspended. 
9 


yS    THIRD  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

He  wants  not  only  knowledge  to  satisfy  the  crav- 
ings of  his  intellect,  but,  above  all,  he  wants  food 
for  his  immortal  soul.  And  you  can  easily  sup- 
pose how  much  pleasure  there  is  in  dispensing  to 
him  the  "  Bread  of  Life," — expounding  the 
truths  of  *'  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,"  according  to  the  ability  given  to  me. 

I  cannot  withhold  from  you  some  account  of  a 
subsequent  conversation  I  have  had  with  Howell, 
which  still  farther  developes  the  state  of  his  mind. 
You  may,  therefore,  expect  to  hear  again  from 
me  soon. 


LETTER  IV. 

To  the  Rev.  J.  Stevenson. 

Torquay,  December  25,  1843. 
My  very  dear  Friend, 

My  letter  of  the  15th  and  16th  contained  a 
pretty  full  account  of  a  conversation  I  had  with 
Mr.  Howell  some  days  before.  I  thought  it  suf- 
ficiently interesting  to  communicate  to  you  ;  and 
on  the  second  day  afterwards  our  conversation 
was  no  less  interesting.  So  soon  as  he  had  re- 
plied to  my  inquiries  respecting  his  health,  he 
said,  "  I  recollect  your  once  saying  something 
about  the  power  of  sin  being  removed,  and  that 
this  was  one  of  the  blessings  which  the  Gospel  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  brings  to  us.  I  should 
like  to  hear  something  more  on  this  subject.'* 

It  instantly  occurred  to  me  that  this  request  in- 
dicated a  peculiar  state  of  mind.  The  topics 
which  he  had  started  at  the  previous  interview, 
and  the  ways  in  which  he  expressed  himself,  led 
me  to  think  that  he  was  beginning  to  look  in- 


100  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

wards,  and  that  the  discovery  of  much  that  was 
sinful  in  his  own  heart  had  made  him  fearful  of 
entertaining  the  hope  of  heaven.  The  informa- 
tion which  he  now  requested  intimated,  although 
he  did  not  say  so,  that  some  "root  of  bitterness" 
was  already  springing  up  within  him  which  he 
had  not  expected,  and  which  caused  him  disap- 
pointment, and  perhaps  some  measure  of  doubt, 
also,  as  to  the  sincerity  or  stabihty  of  his  faith ; 
at  all  events,  this  was  the  impression  made  on 
my  own  mind,  and  it  influenced  the  particular 
turn  that  was  given  to  our  conversation. 

I  stated,  generally,  that  the  salvation  which  is 
by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  is  of  a  threefold  cha- 
racter :  we  are  delivered  from  the  guilt  of  sin, 
from  the  power  of  sin,  and  from  the  punishment 
which  sin  deserves.  This  opened  the  way  for  a 
discourse  on  justification  and  on  sanctification, — 
on  the  distinction  between  the  one  and  the  other, 
and  on  their  connexion  the  one  with  the  other.  I 
explained  how  it  was  necessary,  from  the  holiness 
of  God's  character,  and  for  the  honour  of  his  holy 
law,  that  the  pardon  of  sin  should  be  accompa- 
nied with  a  declaration  of  righteousness.  In  or- 
der to  our  acceptance  with  God  and  restoration  to 
his  favour,  we  must  stand  acquitted  of  the  guilt 
with  which  we  were  charged.  A  simple  pardon 
would  never  meet  the  necessities  of  our  case,  and 
hence  the  value  and  the  meaning  of  those  nume- 
rous passages  which  speak  of  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  as  the  ground  of  our  justification  in  the 
sight  of  God.     "  He  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH.  101 

US  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him,"  ("2  Cor.  v.  21.  See 
also,  Rom.  iii.  21-26,  and  Philip,  iii.  8,  9.)  As 
there  is  nothing  in  us  to  merit  the  forgiveness 
which  we  need,  so  it  is  only  through  the  righteous- 
ness of  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous  One,  imputed 
to  us,  that  we  appear  as  righteous  before  God. 
This  is  what  is  called  our  justification.  It  is  on 
the  part  of  God  a  sovereign  act,  which,  once 
passed,  is  neither  to  be  recalled  nor  repeated ; 
and,  on  our  part,  the  active  and  passive  obedience 
of  the  Saviour, — that  is,  his  life  of  perfect  holi- 
ness, and  his  sacrificial  death,  are  accounted  ours 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  works  faith  in  us.  "  And, 
therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

I  was  anxious  to  fix  his  mind  on  the  finished 
and  accepted  work  of  the  Lord  our  righteousness, 
and  plainly  to  point  out  how  that  wondrous  work 
was  all  undertaken  and  accomplished  for  us  men, 
and  for  our  salvation  ;  and  to  urge  him  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  a  continued  faith  in  the  Saviour,  and  in 
what  he  has  done  for  us,  as  the  only  method  by 
which  the  delightful  peace  he  had  been  enjoying 
could  remain  undisturbed.  He  was  profoundly 
attentive,  and  never  once  interrupted  me.  "  I 
see,"  he  then  said,  "  that  in  order  to  be  justified, 
our  faith  must  embrace  the  blood  of  Christ  for  the 
pardon  of  our  innumerable  oflEences,  and  the  per- 
fect righteousness  of  Christ  as  a  substitute  for  our 
want  of  righteousness."  "Yes,"  I  answered: 
"  were  it  not  so  we  could  not  be  saved  at  all. 
9* 


102  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

And  it  is  from  overlooking  this  grand  truth, 
which  you  have  so  well  expressed,  that  many 
Christian  people  are  deprived  of  the  peace  and 
joy  which  ought  to  be  their  possession.  They 
fancy,  that  whilst  they  look  to  the  Saviour  for 
pardon,  they  ought  to  look  to  themselves  for 
righteousness."  "Ah!"  said  Howell,  "that  is 
important,  very  important.  But  is  there  not  pro- 
vision in  the  Gospel  scheme  for  a  deliverance 
from  the  power  of  sin  1  God's  people,  surely, 
should  be  holy:  they  for  whom  the  Son  of  God 
died  should  themselves  die  unto  sin."  This  ob- 
servation led  me  to  speak  of  Gospel  holiness.  I 
mentioned  the  operative  nature  of  faith.  What- 
ever we  beheve  has  an  effect  upon  us ;  and  that 
effect  is  regulated  by  what  we  believe,  and  by  the 
liveliness  of  our  belief.  To  this  he  cordially  as- 
sented. "Now,  then,"  I  continued,  "whenever 
a  convinced  sinner  believes  that  Jesus  Christ  died 
for  him  on  the  accursed  tree,  and  that  nothing 
short  of  the  blood  of  God's  incarnate  Son  could 
wash  away  his  guilt,  and  deliver  him  from  the 
wrath  to  come,  he  is  at  once  constrained  to  hate 
sin  as  his  greatest  enemy,  and  to  love  his  Saviour 
as  his  best  friend.  Here  is  provision  for  his  sub- 
sequent holiness.  He  is  sanctified  by  the  belief 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  also  by  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  which  is  promised 
to  believers."  I  asked  if  he  had  not  often  no- 
ticed, in  his  intercourse  with  mankind,  that  a  cer- 
tain class  of  people  are  much  freer  than  others 
from  the  follies  and  immoralities  that  every  where 


MEANS  OP  SANCTIFICATION.  103 

abound.  This  he  acknowledojed.  "  And  do  you 
not  feel  in  yourself,"  I  added,  "  that  now  you 
ftave  a  delight  in  thinking  of  God,  and  a  desire  to 
serve  him,  which  you  never  felt  before  V  "  Bless- 
ed be  God!"  he  "^replied;  "blessed  be  God!  I 
can  say  that  is  true."  "  Well,  then,  my  dear 
friend,  how  is  it  so?  Is  it  ftot  your  faith  in  Christ 
as  your  Saviour  that  fills  your  heart  with  the  love 
of  God,  and  holy  love  prompts  you  to  all  holy 
obedience  1  But  it  is  as  a  sinner  you  believe  in 
Christ.  Were  you  not  a  sinner  you  would  not 
need  a  Saviour ;  and,  were  he  not  a  complete  Sa- 
viour, you  could  not  confide  in  him,  nor  rejoice 
in  his  work."  He  admitted  the  justice  of  all 
this.  "  1  therefore  expect  you  will  perceive  that 
justification  and  sanctification  are  two  distinct 
things  which  must  not  be  confounded.  The  Gos- 
pel, which  provides  for  our  deliverance  from  the 
guilt  we  have  already  contracted,  provides,  also, 
that  from  the  moment  of  our  believing  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  we  shall  follow  after  holiness,  with- 
out which  no  man  can  see  the  Lord.  But  the 
work  of  Christ  for  us,  and  which  alone  is  effec- 
tual for  our  justification,  is  quite  different  from 
the  work  of  Christ  in  us,  by  which  we  are  sanc- 
tified. The  work  of  Christ,  in  our  nature,  and  in 
our  stead,  is  complete;  and,  therefore,  St.  Paul 
says  of  believers,  '  Ye  are  complete  in  him.'*  In 
ourselves  the  principle  of  faith  is  seldom  strong, 
and  often  is  not  in  exercise  at  all.  We  do  not 
reahse  Christ's  presence  with  us  and  in  us;  we  do 
not  sufficiently  feel  the  intensity  of  our  obliga- 


104  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

tions  to  his  love,  and  hence  the  imperfection  of 
our  holiness.  Our  holiness,  besides  its  incom- 
pleteness, at  the  best  fluctuates;  it  ebbs  and  flows 
like  the  tide,  although  not  with  the  same  fre- 
quency or  regularity.  But  I  mention  this  merely 
to  warn  you  against  the  danger  of  resting  on  your 
own  attainments  for  peace  of  mind,  or  for  hope 
towards  God.  Christ  must  be  your  confidence 
from  first  to  last:  and  every  feeling  of  remaining 
sinfulness  about  you  ought  to  make  you  cling  to 
him  with  greater  thankfuhiess,  rather  than  to  drive 
you  away  from  him  into  the  dark  and  cloudy  re- 
gions of  doubt." 

This  is  the  substance  of  my  remarks;  and,  in 
conclusion,  I  earnestly  urged  upon  him  the  ne- 
cessity of  abandoning  all  self-righteous  depend- 
ence, if  he  really  desired  either  personal  holiness 
or  spiritual  comfort.  "  The  more  steadfastly  we 
rely,"  I  said,  "on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  jus- 
tifying righteousness,  the  more  successfully  shall 
we  resist  the  enticements  of  sin  and  the  tempta- 
tions of  Satan ;  the  more  constantly  we  look  to 
the  Saviour,  and  lean  on  him  alone  for  every  spi- 
ritual blessing,  the  more  uniform  and  satisfying 
will  be  our  experience  of  the  joys  of  his  salvation." 

Whilst  I  continued  speaking,  Howell  gazed 
on  me  with  an  eager  eye,  and  appeared  to  be  si- 
lently scrutinising  the  import  of  every  sentiment 
and  sentence  I  uttered.  I  asked  whether  what 
had  been  said  satisfied  him  that  the  Gospel 
scheme  of  salvation  had  a  direct  tendency  to  sub- 
due the  power  of  sin  1     With  great  decision  and 


A  PRESENT  SALVATION.  105 

emphasis  he  replied,  "  Your  statements  are  irre- 
sistible ;  they  are  unanswerable."  Of  course  I 
was  delighted  that  he  expressed  his  satisfaction  so 
strongly.  I  then  requested  him  to  observe  that  it 
was  a  very  common  mistake  to  speak  of  salvation 
Sis  future, — as  somethino^  which  awaits  believers 
in  the  eternal  world.  But  he  would  understand 
that  the  faith  of  Christ  puts  us  in  possession  of  a 
present  salvation,  although  the  fulness  of  it  will 
not  be  enjoyed  until  the  body  is  redeemed  from 
the  grave;  yet  even  now  every  believer  is  really  a 
redeemed  man,  redeemed  from  the  cruel  bond- 
age of  sin  and  Satan,  and  brought  into  the  glo- 
rious liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  "  Ah  !  yes," 
he  hastily  exclaimed ;  "  I  see  it, — I  feel  it  !'* 
♦'  Then,  my  friend,  let  us  not  close  our  eyes  on 
the  bright  and  certain  prospects  of  a  glory  which 
is  yet  to  be  revealed  in  us, — of  a  resurrection  life 
when  we  shall  be  with  Christ,  and  when  we  shall 
be  like  him.  But  let  us  ever  with  adoring  grati- 
tude remember,  that  by  divine  grace  we  are  even 
now  the  sons  of  God^  He  took  my  hand  and 
thanked  me  most  affectionately.  On  prayer 
being  proposed,  he  desired  me  to  pray  "  that  he 
miijht  have  still  more  ligrht,  and  an  abidino^  com- 
fort  in  his  Saviour." 

I  saw  him  on  the  following  afternoon  :  the  visit 
was  short.  He  was  labouring  under  much  ex- 
haustion, and  I  had  a  headach  ;  neither  of  us 
was  disposed  or  fit  for  a  lengthened  conversation. 
But  I  felt  anxious  to  ascertain  how  he  was  affect- 
ed by  the  truths  which  had  been  so  fully  submit- 


106  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

ted  to  his  consideration  at  the  two  preceding  in- 
terviews. He  said  he  was  enjoying  great  peace, 
although  his  mind  was  somewhat  confused  by 
opiates.  I  also  thought  proper  to  mention  what 
had  been  my  suspicions  in  regard  to  the  causes 
of  those  states  of  feeling  which  had  induced  him 
to  introduce  the  particular  subjects  on  which  we 
conversed ;  and  he  frankly  owned  that  I  was  quite 
correct  in  supposing  that,  after  the  joyful  sur- 
prise and  delight  occasioned  by  the  first  gush  of 
so  much  divine  light  into  his  previously  darkened 
understanding  had  somewhat  subsided,  he  had 
been  tempted  to  harbour  the  question,  whether 
all  this  wonderful  change  that  had  passed  upon 
him  were  a  delusion  or  a  reality.  This  was  the 
origin  of  his  doubt  whether  a  person  like  him  was 
warranted  to  entertain  the  hope  of  heavenly  bliss. 
He  confessed  farther,  that  when  looking  into  him- 
self, and  examining  the  state  of  his  heart,  he  still 
found  many  evil  thoughts  spontaneously  arising 
which  he  considered  to  be  inconsistent  with  the 
holiness  of  a  true  Christian ;  and  this  made  him 
anxious  to  know  how  the  power  of  sin  was  to  be 
removed.  All  this  was  exceedingly  natural ;  and 
to  me  it  was  interesting  in  a  high  degree,  as  con- 
firmatory of  much  that  you  have  read  in  my  MS. 
letters  on  the  subject  of  Doubts.  It  was  truly 
pleasing  to  hear  Mr.  Howell  say,  his  own  short 
experience  taught  him  that  his  hours  of  purest 
happiness  were  those  which  had  been  spent  in  the 
contemplation  of  Christ.     This  reminded  me  of 


THE  ABHORRENCE  OP  SIN.  107 

his  own  beautiful  saying,  "  to  be  with  Christ  is 
Heaven.'''' 

On  Tuesday  last  I  found  him  very  weak.  He 
spoke  in  a  whisper.  In  answer  to  inquiries  he 
told  me  that  his  mind  was  very  composed,  and  he 
had  had  a  heavenly  night.  "  My  dreams,"  he 
said,  "  were  full  of  religion  ;  my  mind  was  occu- 
pied with  God,  and  I  had  a  sweet  night.  It  was 
heavenly;  but,"  he  continued,  "the  night  before 
it  was  quite  otherwise  with  me  ;  my  dreams,  were 
full  of  sin."  As  he  thus  spoke,  he  became  agi- 
tated ;  his  countenance  assumed  an  expression 
of  indignant  distress  and  repulsion  ;  he  withdrew 
one  of  his  hands  from  under  the  bed  clothes,  and 
moving  it  rapidly  backwards  and  forwards,  as  if 
driving  from  him  some  hated  object,  he  added, 
'*  My  dreams  were  of  things  that  are  utterly  ab- 
horrent lo  my  waking  desires."  Then,  calming 
himself,  he  said,  "  I  wish  you  to  tell  me  if  I  am 
responsible  for  these  dreams ;  if  I  am  to  be  con- 
sidered as  the  perpetrator  of  such  wickedness." 
Of  course,  I  had  no  hesitation  in  relieving  his 
anxiety  on  this  point.  At  the  same  time,  I  could 
not  avoid  stating  how  inveterate  is  the  sinfulness 
of  our  nature  ;  and  how  exceedingly  thankful  we 
should  be  for  "  the  great  salvation  "  which  the 
Gospel  reveals  ;  and  how  thankful  he  himself  es- 
pecially should  be,  that  now  sin,  even  in  a  mid- 
night dream,  appeared  to  him  so  very  sinful  as  to 
excite  his  utmost  dread  and  detestation  of  it. 
This  view  of  the  subject  had  not  occurred  to  him. 
It  Ccdled  forth  expressions  of  devout  and  lively 


108  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

gratitude  to  the  God  of  all  grace  ;  and  he  re- 
quested me  to  pray  "  that  this  blessed  grace 
might  he  continued  and  increased." 

I  called  at  Beulah  next  nmorning,  and  was  in- 
formed that  Mr.  Howell  was  a  little  revived  again. 
I  did  not  go  up  stairs  to  see  him. 

Thursday,  the  21st,  was  his  birth-day.  He 
entered  on  his  thirty-fourth  year.  I  intended  giv- 
ing him  a  long  visit  in  the  afternoon  ;  but  in  the 
early  part  of  the  day  I  heard  through  a  friend, 
that  Dr.  Tetley  thought  him  fast  sinking.  I  call- 
ed about  my  usual  hour ;  Mrs.  Howell  was  at 
home — she  had  got  a  holiday.  In  general,  she 
goes  to  Torre  in  the  afternoon,  to  teach  Mr.  Black- 
more's  children.  She  accompanied  me  to  the 
chamber  where  her  dear,  dying  husband  lay.  He 
looked  very  languid  and  emaciated :  it  was  evi- 
dently an  effort  for  him  to  speak,  even  in  a  sub- 
dued whisper.  As  we  shook  hands,  I  expressed 
a  hope  that,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  bodily  frailty, 
he  had  peace  of  mind.  He  answered,  '*  Perfect 
peace,"  and,  after  breathing,  he  repeated  with 
emphasis,  *'j9er/ec^  peace."  His  motionless  pos- 
ture, and  the  placidity  of  his  countenance,  were 
to  me  like  two  witnesses  attesting  the  truth  of  his 
declaration  ;  and  truly,  under  such  circumstan- 
ces, such  a  testimony  was  invaluable.  He  was 
experiencing  in  his  own  soul,  and  manifesting 
unto  others,  the  fulfilment  of  what  is  written  by 
the  prophet  Isaiah,  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  per- 
fect peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee  because 
he  trusteth  in  thee,"  (chap.  xxvi.  3.)     I  quoted 


PERFECT    PEACE.  109 

tliistext,  and  he  made  some  remarks  on  the  con- 
nexion between  our  exercise  of  trust  in  God  and 
our  enjoyment  of  inward  peace. 

Mrs.  Howell  went  out  of  the  room  to  fetch 
some  refreshment  that  was  being  made  ready  for 
her  enfeebled  husband.  As  soon  as  we  were 
left  alone,  he  muttered,  with  great  composure, 
*'  The  flesh  is  fading."  This  little  unlooked-for 
speech  produced  a  conflict  of  feelings  in  my  own 
bosom  :  it  was  the  plainest,  and  the  first  direct 
intimation  he  had  ever  given  me  that  he  thought 
himself  dying ;  and  death  is  always  a  sad  and 
solemn  thing  when  it  is  brought  near  lo  us.  My 
mourning  was,  nevertheless,  mingled  with  joy, 
on  this  occasion.  I  was  really  glad  to  find  the 
dying  man  sensible  of  his  situation,  and  still  more 
so  to  see  that  his  "  perfect  peace"  was  nowise 
disturbed  or  diminished  by  the  supposed  near- 
ness of  "  the  king  of  terrors."  I  looked  at  him, 
and  listened  to  him  in  silence.  He  presently- 
added,  *'  I  feel  myself  sinking,  and  I  only  wish 
that  God  may  grant  me  the  use  of  my  faculties 
unto  the  end,  that  I  may  enjoy  the  consolations 
of  prayer."  I  said,  "  God  will  do  what  is  best 
Is  your  dependence  still  on  Christ  ?"  He  shook 
his  head,  and  he  tried  to  smile  as  he  replied, 
*'  Oh,  yes,  on  him  alone.'''' 

Mrs.  Howell  returned.  It  was  obvious  he  had 
desired  to  spare  her  feelings ;  and,  therefore,  no 
allusion  was  made  to  her  of  what  had  passed 
during  her  absence.  Howell  partook  of  a  little 
gruel.  I  begged  permission  to  hold  the  cup  to 
10 


110  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

his  head,  and  was  happy  of  the  opportunity  fo 
render  him  that  little  service,  which  might  pro- 
bably be  the  last  ever  afforded  me.  I  spoke  of 
*'  the  better  country,"  which  is  our  destination, 
and  of  the  glory  that  awaits  us  at  the  coming  of 
our  Lord,  when  we  shall  be  "  clothed  upon  with 
our  house  which  is  from  heaven."  I  described 
this  hope — this  glorious  hope,  not  as  a  thing  un- 
certain and  precarious,  but  as  "  sure  and  stead- 
fast"— a  living  reality.  As  such,  I  urged  him  to 
hold  it  fast;  for,  just  as  he  fixedly  believed  in 
the  Saviour,  he  would  have  "  Christ  in  him,  the 
hope  of  glory."  He  distinctly  said,  "  God  had 
promised  it" — meaning  to  express  his  own  con- 
viction of  the  firmness  of  the  foundation  on  which 
the  Christian's  hope  is  based  ;  and  here  our  con- 
versation abruptly  terminated.  It  was  necessary 
for  me  to  leave  the  room  ;  and  as  he  was  so 
vreak,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  free  from  men- 
tal disquietude,  I  judged  it  wisest  not  to  return. 

On  Friday,  immediately  after  breakfast,  I 
went  to  the  house,  fully  prepared  to  hear  that 
Howell  was  dead.  Inside  the  garden  gate  I  met 
the  two  eldest  of  his  infant  children  playing; 
and  this  dissipated  my  doleful  forebodings.  At 
the  door,  the  servant  told  me  that  her  master 
was  rather  better ;  and,  on  being  ushered  into 
his  apartment,  I  had  the  unexpected  pleasure  to 
observe  an  appearance  of  liveliness  about  his 
eye,  that  told  how  much  he  had  revived  from  the 
preceding  afternoon. 

He  was  all  alone.     Mrs.  Howell  was  engajred 


THE  FOrNDATION  OF  CHRISTIAN  HOPE.      Ill 

with  her  pupils.  There  lay  on  his  hed  a  pocket 
Bible,  and  a  copy  of  "  James's  Anxious  In- 
quirer," of  which  he  had  just  been  reading  a 
chapter.  He  observed  that  he  had  met  in  it 
with  views  of  justification  and  sanctification  very 
similar  to  those  I  had  already  explained  to  him  a 
few  days  before.  This  little  volume  had  been 
given  to  him  on  his  leavin*^  Bath,  by  a  pious 
lady,  who  was  one  of  his  patients.  He  valued  it 
on  her  account,  and  often  had  it  beside  him, 
ahhough  he  had  never  yet  read  the  whole  of  it. 
In  fact,  he  was  able  for  very  little  reading,  and 
latterly  he  spent  what  strength  he  had  almost 
wholly  on  the  Bible.  But  he  felt  that  he  now 
understood  this  excellent  little  treatise  better 
than  he  had  done  formerly.  I  could  not  help  re- 
marking, that  the  time  was  when  he  himself  had 
been  an  inquirer  after  salvation,  as  well  as  after 
other  branches  of  knowledge,  without  his  having 
any  anxiety  on  the  subject.  The  time  too  was^ 
and  that  not  long  since,  when  he  felt  the  impor- 
tance of  personal  salvation  so  deeply  as  to  make 
him  a  very  anxious  inquirer  how  he  might  be 
saved.  But,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  through 
the  teachings  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  he  had  now 
found  Him,  of  whom  Moses  and  the  prophets 
wrote,  even  Jesus,  the  Christ.  Instead  of 
being  merely  ari  inquirer  after  it,  he  was  a  par- 
taker of  salvation ;  and  his  anxiety  had  given 
place  to  gratitude  and  praise.  A  holy  smile 
played  on  his  wasted  face  as  he  said,  "  Yes,  in- 
deed, but  still  I  have  much  to  learn." 


112  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

He  told  me  that  his  peace  of  mind  continued, 
and  he  spoke  more  freely  as  a  dying  man  than 
he  did  the  day  before.  I  thought  he  was  quite 
inclined  for  conversation,  had  not  the  tendentess 
of  his  throat  prevented  him ;  at  all  eveiits,  he 
was  intent  on  something  that  might  prove  to 
edification.  He  put  the  Bible  into  my  hand, 
and  requested  me  to  expound.  I  read  some 
verses  in  the  beginning  of  the  first  chapter  of  1 
Peter.  The  subject  is  very  animating  and  pe- 
culiarly calculated  to  support  the  tried,  and  to 
cheer  the  dying  Christian.  My  own  soul  had  a 
benefit  in  dwelling  on  *'  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord  from  the  dead  ;"  and  on  the  "  lively  hope" 
with  which  his  resurrection  inspires  his  believing 
people,  that  they  too  shall  rise  ;  and,  on  "  the 
inheritance"  which  is  reserved  for  them ;  and  on 
the  power  of  God,  by  which  "  they  are  kept 
through  faith"  until  they  are  put  into  possession 
of  their  glorious  and  complete  salvation  "  in  the 
last  time."  These  truths  greatly  comforted  the 
dear  dying  man.  We  spoke,  too,  of  the  mighty 
power  of  Gospel  faith  and  hope  to  bear  us  up 
under  present  and  even  under  "  manifold  tempta- 
tions ;"  and  of  that  unquenchable  love  to  an  un- 
seen Saviour,  which  has  carried  many  delicate 
females,  as  well  as  healthy  men,  to  the  gibbet 
and  to  the  stake  ;  and  of  that  insatiable  desire, 
and  holy  assurance,  of  seeing  Him  whom  our 
souls  love,  which  gives  rise  to  a  "joy  that  is  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory."  In  such  converse 
we  mutually  enjoyed  a  sweet  and  solemn  season 


TOPICS  OF  CONSOLATION.  113 

of  spiritual  refreshment.  He  asked  me  to  pray, 
and  renewed  his  request  of  the  former  afternoon. 
He  particularly  wished,  if  it  pleased  God,  that 
his  mental  faculties  might  not  be  impaired,  and 
that  he  mijTht  be  able  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
prayer  unto  the  end.  This  led  to  some  interest- 
ing talk  about  a  variety  of  otlier  blessings,  which 
it  would  be  our  privilege  to  implore,  as  pecu- 
liarly needed  at  the  time  ;  and  it  was  suggested 
that  we  ought  also  to  offer  up  special  thanksgiv- 
ing for  blessings  already  so  freely  conferred  on 
him.  With  this  previous  arrangement,  we  ap- 
proached the  throne  of  grace,  and  poured  out 
our  hearts  before  the  Hearer  and  Answerer  of 
prayer.  It  was,  indeed,  an  affecting  service — 
necessarily  embracing  the  past,  the  present,  and 
the  future ;  and  comprehending  not  only  the 
case  of  dear  Howell  individually,  and  our  recent 
intercourse,  and  our  anticipated  separation ;  but, 
on  such  an  occasion,  we  could  not  omit  the  case 
of  his  wife  and  children,  so  soon  to  become  a 
widow  and  fatherless.  All  this  was  very  trying 
to  the  fading  flesh  ;  but  when  the  prayer  was 
concluded  with  his  own  audible  "  Amen,  and 
Amen,"  I  found  the  dying  man  neither  bathed 
in  tears,  nor  manifesting  any  agitation  whatever. 
His  "  perfect  peace"  had  not  forsaken  him.  He 
rested  firmly  and  securely  on  the  Rock  of  Ages. 
There  was  no  shrinking  from  an  encounter  with 
the  last  enemy ;  there  were  no  regrets  at  the 
prospect  of  leaving  the  world  ;  no  repinings  at 
the  overthrow  of  all  his  plans  and  projects  for 
10* 


i]4  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

the  attainment  of  professional  distinction  ;  no 
murmiirings  against  Providence  for  cutting  iiira 
down  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  and  thus  early 
breaking  asunder  the  conjugal  and  parental  ties, 
to  which  his  amiable  dispositions  imparted  both 
strength  and  tenderness.  Neither  was  there  any 
approach  to  excitement:  his  composure  was 
something  quite  remarkable.  I  am  sure  that  God 
was  the  strength  of  his  heart.  I  am  equally  sure 
that  great  was  his  inward  happiness  ;  but  it  was 
chastened  and  kept  under  subjection,  from  a 
continued  fear  of  prematurity  or  presumption. 
And  by  this  time  he  had  been  brought  to  those 
enlarged  views  of  the  Divine  character,  and  to 
that  simple  reliance  on  His  word,  which  enabled 
him  to  cast  upon  God  the  burden  of  his  cares  ; 
and  meekly,  and  patiently,  and  contentedly,  to 
resign  himself,  and  all  that  was  dearest  to  him 
on  earth,  to  the  disposal  of  Unerring  Wisdom 
and  Love. 

I  have  never  attended  a  death-bed  where  there 
was  so  little  of  gloom :  I  never  beheld  a  nobler 
exliibition  of  Christian  calmness  under  trouble, 
and  of  that  heavenly  serenity,  amidst  the  length- 
ening shadows  of  this  life's  closing  hours,  which 
remind  one  of  the  softness  and  stillness  of  a  sum- 
mer evening,  when  the  noise  and  the  toils  of 
human  labours  have  ceased — Avhen  the  \ery  ele- 
ments of  nature  appear  to  be  indulging  in  twilight 
repose ;  and  when  the  anticipations  of  midnight 
blackness  are  brightened  with  the  assurance,  that 
the  sun  which  has  set  beneath  the  horizon  will 


HEAVENLY  SERENITY  OP  MIND.  115 

rise  again  in  the  morning,  to  cheer  man  onward 
in  the  path  of  hfe,  and  to  clotlie  the  earth  with  a 
fresh  mantle  of  gladness  and  of  glory. 

It  was  not  without  reluctance  that  we  parted. 
Neither  of  us  dare  say  so  ;  but  both  of  us  evident- 
ly had  the  impression  that  we  should  not  meet 
again  in  this  world.  Our  hands  remained  locked 
in  each  other's  for  a  considerable  length  of  time. 
I  cannot  repeat  the  words  of  kindness  with  which 
he  expressed  his  sense  of  obligation  for  my  visit; 
nor  need  I  repeat  ray  own  expressions  of  grateful 
delight,  in  having  been  privileged  to  act  as  a 
minister  of  Christ,  in  explaining  to  him  the  Sa- 
viour's character  and  work,  and  to  spend  so 
many  pleasant  hours  with  him  in  mutual  Chris- 
tian fellowship,  and  in  united  communion  with 
God.  At  last  we  did  exchange  farewells ;  but 
neither  of  us  was  aware  of  what  awaited  us. 
Howell,  I  doubt  not,  was  in  the  expectation  of 
a  speedy  release  from  his  diseased  and  wasted 
body,  and  that  his  immortal  spirit  would  soon 
depart  from  this  scene  of  sin,  and  suffering, 
and  sorrow,  to  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord. — 
And  I,  although  far  from  being  well  at  the 
time,  certainly  did  not  entertain  any  apprehen- 
sion of  being  laid  by.  But,  in  the  wise  provi- 
dence of  God,  it  has  been  so  ordered  that  the 
dying  man  still  lingers  on,  hanging  by  a  slender 
thread,  whilst  I  have  been  confined  to  the  house 
ever  since  I  saw  him  on  Friday  morning.  I  can- 
not think  of  asking  his  afflicted  and  much-occu- 
pied wife  to  take  the  trouble  of  writing  to  me,  and 


116  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

verbal  messages  furnish  me  with  no  particulars 
about  her  husband.  I  learn  only  in  a  general 
way  that  he  is  very  ill,  and  at  the  same  time  very 
composed. 

Should  I  afterwards  hear  any  thing  interesting 
respecting  either  his  life  or  his  death,  I  shall  not 
fail  to  apprise  you.  In  the  meantime,  this  letter 
has  swelled  out  to  an  immoderate  length.  It  is 
concluded  and  dated  on  Christmas-day,  but  in 
reality  it  has  been  written  at  intervals  during  the 
past  week.  It  has  been  the  pleasant  occupation 
of  my  leisure  hours  from  day  to  day.  Let  me 
hear  it  reaches  you  in  safety,  as  also  whether  you 
received  its  predecessor. 

*  ^  *  *  *  * 

Wishing  you  many  returns  of  the  season,  with 
much  of  the  presence  and  blessing  of  Him  who 
at  this  season  came  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  to 
save  us, 

T  remain, 
Your  very  affectionate  friend 

and  brother  in  Christ  Jesus, 

D.  P. 


LETTER  V. 

To  the  Rev.  John  Stevenson. 

Torquay,  January  13,  1844. 

My  very  Dear  Friend, 

Since  Christmas-day,  the  date  of  my  last  long 
letter,  a  variety  of  circumstances  has  hindered 
me  from  continuing  the  narrative  of  Mr.  Howell's 
dying  experience ;  but  from  my  short  notes  to 
your  wife,  and  also  to  your  curate  at  different 
times,  you  have  already  learned  that  he  is  both 
dead  and  buried. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord," 
and  this  is  his  blessedness.  The  spirit  has  return- 
ed to  God  who  gave  it.  It  has  gone  to  Christ 
who  redeemed  it,  and  now  mingles  with  the  glo- 
rious company  of  "  the  spirits  of  the  just  made 
perfect."  Now  he  knows  in  reality  that  to  be 
present  with  his  Lord  and  Saviour  is  heaven.  On 
earth  he  saw,  through  the  measure  of  light  tltat 
was  imparted  to  him,  that  in  the  incarnate  God 
all   the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  are 


118  FOURTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

hid ;  but  he  had  little  time  to  search  into  these 
treasures.  What  surprising  discoveries  he  would 
make  in  entering  upon  the  world  of  spirits !  and 
how  must  he  now,  with  ineffable  wonder  and  de- 
light, contemplate  his  narrow  escape  from  perdi- 
tion, and  his  safe  entrance  into  that  abode  where 
Satan  cannot  follow  him,  and  where  he  shall 
never  feel  the  power  of  sin  !  It  is  indeed  a  bless- 
edness beyond  our  utmost  conception  to  be  for 
ever  separated  from  sin,  and  to  be  for  ever  with 
the  Lord.  And  of  this  celestial  blessedness  I 
feel  assured  that  our  dear  brother  Howell  is  now 
a  partaker. 

Asa  man  he  is  dead :  it  is  only  his  spirit  that 
lives  and  is  blessed.  But  the  mortal  body  which 
has  been  committed  to  the  grave  in  corruption 
and  dishonour,  to  mingle  with  its  kindred  dust, 
shall  also,  ere  long,  participate  in  the  blessedness. 
It  shall  be  raised  in  honour,  in  incorruption,  and 
in  immortality  :  it  only  waits  the  "  voice  of  the 
archangel  and  the  trump  of  God,"  which  are  to 
announce  the  descent  of  the  Lord  himself  from 
heaven  with  a  shout,  when,  "  the  dead  in  Christ 
shall  rise  first,  and  when  all  the  living  saints  on 
earth  shall  be  changed.  I  often  marvel  that  our 
thoughts  are  so  seldom  and  so  feebly  directed  to 
the  subject  of  the  resurrection.  Oh  !  what  a  day 
of  joy,  of  glory,  of  astonishment,  that  will  be, 
when  the  whole  church  of  the  first-born,  gathered 
into  one,  out  of  all  tribes  and  kindreds  of  man- 
kind, and  from  all  climes  and  countries  on  the 
face  of  this  globe, — adorned  with  their  spiritual 


BLESSEDESS  OF  DYING  IN  CHRIST.  119 

bodies,  fashioned  like  unto  the  glorified  body  of 
their  Lord, — shall  live  and  reign  with  him,  and 
enjoy  the  completeness  of  the  great  redemption  ! 

But  I  must  leave  you  to  pursue  this  train  of 
animating  thoughts  at  your  own  leisure.  You 
desire  to  hear  something  more  of  Howell,  and 
*'  trust  that  such  a  testimony  may  be  given  in  the 
last  moments  as  may  redound  to  the  glory  of 
God."  I  think  it  is  in  my  power  to  gratify  your 
desire,  and  to  put  fresh  songs  of  praise  into  your 
lips  for  the  abundance  of  grace  vouchsafed  to  the 
dying  man. 

You  will  recollect  that  when  I  left  him  on  the 
morning  of  the  22d  of  December,  after  a  very 
affecting  interview,  we  took  a  kind  of  formal  fare- 
well. Each  of  us  had  the  impression  that  we  should 
not  meet  again,  and  so  it  has  happened,  although 
in  a  way  very  opposite  toour  calculations.  I  con- 
sidered Howell  was  on  the  very  brink  of  the  eter- 
nal world,  and  from  his  conversation  that  day  he 
evidently  thought  so  himself;  whereas  the  flick- 
ering lamp  of  life  did  not  expire  till  the  4th  of 
January.  But  it  never  entered  into  my  thoughts 
that  the  slight  indisposition  under  which  I  was 
then  labouring  might  probably  increase.  Yet 
this  was  what  Providence  had  appointed.  I  re- 
turned home  from  this  visit,  and  was  not  able 
again  to  leave  the  house  till  the  day  he  died.  Dr. 
Madden  had  been  at  Beulah  early  that  morning 
along  with  Dr.  Battersby.  He  gave  me  permis- 
sion to  go  out,  and  said  if  I  wished  to  see  my 
friend  once  more  I  must  go  immediately.     I  was 


120      FIFTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

too  late.  I  saw  only  a  breathless  corpse ;  but 
still  it  was  beautiful, — so  beautiful  that  it  might 
have  served  any  sculptor  as  a  model  for  a  repre- 
sentation of  mental  peace  and  corporeal  tranquil- 
lity. 

After  the  few  first  days  of  my  confinement,  I 
could  not  be  satisfied  with  verbal  messages.  I 
ventured  to  intrude  on  Mrs.  Howell  with  little 
notes  of  inquiry  and  of  comfort,  and  in  her  replies 
the  uniform  assurance  was  given  me  that  her  hus- 
band enjoyed  "  perfect  peace."  Whatever  were 
the  changes  and  fluctuations  in  the  symptoms  of 
his  disease,  or  in  his  sensations  of  bodily  comfort 
or  discomfort,  his  spiritual  experience  at  this  so- 
lemn crisis  underwent  so  little  variation,  that  the 
name  of  Howell  has,  in  my  mind,  become  asso- 
ciated with  these  sweet  words — "  perfect  peace." 
The  association  is  so  pleasing  and  so  warranta- 
ble, that  should  your  proposal  of  giving  his  reli- 
gious experience  to  the  public  be  carried  out,  I 
cannot  think  of  any  title  so  appropriate  as  that 
of  Perfect  Peace,  exemplified  in  the  dying  days 
of  John  Warren  Howell. 

Mrs.  Howell  has  favoured  me  with  some  re- 
miniscences of  his  last  days.     She  says  : — 

"  It  was  his  frequent  request  that  I  should  pray 
with  him,  and  I  often  made  the  effort ;  but,  be- 
ing ill,  and  unused  to  oral  prayer,  I  found  much 
difficulty.  He  encouraged  me  with  great  tender- 
ness, and  expressed  an  almost  celestial  satisfac- 
tion when  he  found  that  I  had  prayed  by  his  side 
while  he  slept.     His  daily  request  was   that   I 


MR.  HOWELL  S  PERFECT  PEACE.  121 

should  make  earnest  petitions  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  his  intellect,  thut  he  might  depart  with 
the  voice  of  prayer  in  his  ear. 

"  A  new  symptom  appearing,  he  said, — 

*'  'Ah  !  my  love,  these  are  so  many  steps  to- 
wards the  last  hourn.' 

"  I  replied,  '  You  do  not  fear  1 ' 

"  '  No,'  he  answered  ;  '  blessed  be  God,  all 
dread  is  taken  away  :  I  rely  wholly  on  the  merits 
of  my  Saviour.' 

"  '  Can  you  say  mi/  Saviour  ? ' 

"  '  Yes  ;  jni/  Saviour.' 

"  Every  new  pain  he  called  a  gracious  token 
sent  to  warn  him  that  death,  and  not  restoration, 
was  God's  intention  towards  him.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  our  wishes  would  get  the  better  of  our 
judgment,  and  we  would  lay  too  much  stress  on 
any  little  amendment.  'Notwithstanding  my 
present  uneasiness,'  he  would  say,  '  I  am  certain- 
ly better  ;  many  of  the  most  urgent  symptoms  are 
giving  way.'  Alas  !  he  did  not  discern  God's 
gracious  mercy  in  thus  gently  preparing  him  for 
the  last  hour,  but  took  it  for  an  earnest  that  his 
life  was  to  be  prolonged. 

"  When  I  congratulated  him  on  the  opening 
of  the  new  year,  he  said,  '  It  will  be  a  happy 
new  year  if  begun  in  glory.'  On  the  evening  of 
that  day  he  asked  me  to  come  and  read  the 
Bible,  and  talk  with  him.  I  read  the  first  two 
chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  He 
called  them  '  noble  chapters,'  and  said  they  were 
a  complete  refutation  of  the  Unitarian  doctrine. 
11 


122      FIFTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

I  asked  him  that  night  if  he  felt  himself  accept- 
ed 1  He  said,  '  I  am  afraid  to  speak  so  decided- 
ly. I  have  no  doubts,  no  fears ;  and,  perhaps, 
my  natural  temperament  interferes  to  modify 
both  my  feehngs  and  expressions.  You  know, 
love,  that  I  am  reflective,  not  demonstrative.  1 
am  afraid  Mr.  Pitcairn  is  not  satisfied  with  me 
on  that  point,  but  you  must  explain  to  him  my 
peculiar  character." 

And  this  remark  of  the  dying  man  affords  me 
a  fitting  opportunity  to  say  how  pleased  I  felt 
with  his  modest  diffidence  all  along.  When  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel  scheme  first  broke  in  upon 
his  mind,  and  he  was  made  to  know  experi- 
mentally that  Christ  crucified  is  the  power  of 
God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation,  joy 
was  the  ruling  emotion  of  his  heart.  Then  it 
was  he  regretted  his  inabihty  to  sing:  and  had 
he  not  felt  and  expressed  this  joy,  there  would 
have  been  no  proof  either  to  himself  or  to  others, 
of  his  having  believed  the  glad  tidings  of  salva- 
tion. But  his  joy,  even  when  at  its  height,  was 
still  of  a  most  subdued  description.  In  this  his 
natural  temperament  was  manifested,  and  very 
soon  the  calmer  emotion  of  peace  entirely  sup- 
planted joi/. 

From  the  moment  that  he  began  to  reflect  on 
his  past  manner  of  life,  and  to  watch  the  state  of 
his  heart,  he  ceased  to  be  joyful.  This  loss  of 
joy  was  the  less  to  be  regretted,  so  long  as  he 
kept  fi-ee  from  spiritual  distress ;  and  there  was 
the   greatest    cause   for   satisfaction,   when   his 


LOVE  FOR  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 


123 


abiding  peace  was  not  marred  by  any  tendency 
to  despond.  I  did  urge  upon  liim  to  resist  the 
intrusion  of  doubts,  and  to  rest  on  the  truth  of 
God's  word  with  a  steadfast  faitli ;  but  on  the 
subject  of  his  personal  assurance  I  never  remem- 
ber to  have  questioned  him.  Nor  did  I  think  it 
at  all  necessary,  inasmuch  as  he  was  so  sweetly 
enjoying  and  exemplifying  the  holy  fruits  of 
faith. 

Mrs.  Howell  says,  "  The  last  Scriptural  sub- 
ject on  which  we  conversed  was  that  of  the 
Roman  centurion.  He  had  forgotten  the  exact 
words  of  the  narrative,  and  he  asked  me  how 
the  centurion's  refusal  to  permit  the  Saviour  to 
come  into  his  house  could  be  accounted  for. 
While  I  was  speaking  of  this  true  believer's 
faith  and  humility,  Dr.  Tetley  came  in,  and  my 
dear  husband  was  much  pleased  and  satisfied 
that  the  doctor  should  give  the  same  explanation 
as  I  had  done.  I  afterwards  read  to  him  St. 
Matthew's  account  of  that  instructive  and  inter- 
esting narrative."     (See  chap.  viii.  5-13). 

His  love  for  the  Holy  Scriptures  became  great : 
their  sublime  truths  absorbed  his  attention,  to 
the  exclusion  of  chemistry  and  botany,  which 
were  very  favourite  subjects  of  experiment  and 
investigation.  But  his  mind  was  too  active  ever 
to  be  without  a  subject.  A  small  Bible  latterly 
was  his  constant  companion  on  the  bed.  He  could 
read  very  little  at  a  time  ;  a  very  few  verses,  how- 
ever, supplied  materials  for  deep  and  long-conti- 
nued reflection.     I  remember  his  once  saying  to 


124      FIFTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

me  that  he  wished  to  reserve  all  his  strength  for 
the  pure  Word  of  God.  The  only  other  book 
he  liked  to  have  beside  him  was  "  The  Anxious 
Inquirer,"  where  he  found  much  precious  truth 
in  a  small  space,  and  much  that  was  particular- 
ly suited  to  his  own  circumstances.  But  were 
his  life  spared,  he  said,  he  would  give  himself 
up  to  the  study  of  the  Bible ;  and  as  it  was  only 
small  portions  of  it  he  could  at  present  read,  he 
asked  me  to  recommend  what  might  be  most 
profitable  to  him. 

Here  it  is  proper  to  mention  that,  on  the 
second  Sunday  after  I  began  to  visit  him,  a 
hymn  had  been  sung  in  Trinity  Church,  which 
I  thought  calculated  to  speak  comfort  to  his 
heart ;  so  1  put  the  hymn-book  into  my  pocket, 
and  went  to  see  him  after  service.  You  have  a 
copy  of  the  same  collection.  The  hymn  I  read 
is  the  175th,  beginning, — 

*'  My  God,  my  Father,  blissful  name ! 

Oh,  may  I  call  thee  mine  ! 
May  I,  with  sweet  assurance,  claim 

A  portion  so  divine  !" 

He  was  delighted  with  these  sentiments,  and 
this  hymn  continued  to  be  one  of  three  favourites 
which  his  wife  was  often  requested  to  read,  and 
occasionally  to  sing,  in  his  hearing.  Another  is 
the  248th :— 

"  Stricken,  smitten,  and  afflicted, 

See  him  dying:  on  the  tree  ! 
'Tis  the  Christ  by  man  rejected  ; 

Yes,  my  soul,  'tis  he,  'tis  he !" 


i 


COMMUNINGS  WITH  IIIS  WIFE.  125 

And   the   last   that   he   hstened    to   was    the 
140th :— 

"  Jesus,  thv  blood  and  righteousness 
My  beauty  are,  my  glorious  dress  ; 
Midst  flaming  worlds,  in  these  array'd, 
With  joy  shall  I  lift  uji  my  head." 

These  hymns  having  been  chosen  in  prefer- 
ence to  many  others,  ii'we  a  pleat^ing-  indication 
of  the  current  of  Mr.  Howell's  thoughts,  and  of 
the  frame  of  his  own  mind.  Christ,  his  blood 
and  righteousness,  was  all  his  dependence,  all 
his  hope,  all  his  salvation;  and  in  recognising 
God's  fatiierly  care  and  love,  he  no  doubt  had 
respect  to  his  wife  and  children,  as  well  as  to 
himself.  His  affections  were  very  tender, — his 
sensitiveness  was  extreme,  and,  therefore,  the 
bare  idea  of  separation  from  the  beloved  wife  of 
his  bosom,  who  had  never  heard  an  angry  word 
from  his  lips,  nor  seen  a  frown  on  his  face,  and 
from  their  three  helpless  babes,  must  have  cost 
him  many  a  pang.  But  these  overwhelming 
sorrows  he  obviously  kept  as  secret  as  he  could : 
he  did  not  wish  to  distress  others  with  them. 
To  me  he  rarely  broached  the  subject,  and  never 
in  presence  of  Mrs.  Howell.  To  herself,  she 
tells  me,  he  spoke  unreservedly,  and  with  as- 
tonishing self  possession.  He  talked  over  freely 
with  her  the  state  of  his  worldly  affairs,  which 
are  the  very  reverse  of  being  prosperous;  and  he 
gave  iier  a  number  of  directions  how  she  ought 
to  act,  so  as  not  to  involve  herself  in  unnecessary 
11* 


126      FIFTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

troubles.  He  spoke  also  of  his  funeral,  and  or- 
dered it  to  be  conducted  in  the  plainest  and  least 
expensive  manner.  He  expressed  his  confidence 
that  God  would  provide  for  the  widow  and  the 
fatherless.  Amidst  these  most  painful  and  na- 
turaliv  aoitatino-  communino;s  with  her  whom  he 
was  about  to  leave  a  "widow  and  desolate,"  he 
maintained  the  utmost  composure.  His  faith 
upheld  him.  Even  whilst  he  was  undergoing 
these  trials,  Mrs.  Howell  could  write  to  me,  that 
her  husband  continued  in  "  perfect  peace." 
The  Christian  understands  how  this  should  be  ; 
the  man  of  the  world  must  wonder. 

On  Wednesday  the  3d  instant,  he  sunk  into 
stupor :  he  could  scarcely  articulate,  and  was  al- 
most insensible.  His  wife  tried  to  converse  with 
him,  but  he  could  not  attend  to  her;  she  offered 
to  read  the  Bible,  but  he  was  incapable  of  listen- 
intr :  he  complained  that  he  had  not  been  able  to 
think  of  God.  In  the  course  of  the  evening-,  Dr. 
Battersby  and  Dr.  Madden  were  both  with  liim, 
and  saw  that  he  could  not  long  survive.  Dr. 
Madden  asked  him  how  all  was  within.  Howell 
did  not  understand  him  at  first ;  he  seemed  to 
imagine  that  the  question  was  professional,  and 
referred  to  the  state  of  his  body ;  but  when  Mad- 
den explained  that  he  was  inquiring  about  the 
state  of  his  mind,  he  replied  in  a  whisper  so  faint 
as  only  to  be  heard  by  the  application  of  the  ear 
to  his  face,  "  Oh  !  there  has  been  a  wonderful 
change  ! — wonderful — wonderful !"  and  as  if  lost 
in  the  contemplation  of  what  he  was  experiencing, 


UPHELD  BY  FAITH  IN  CHRIST.  127 

and  of  what  he  was  expecting  of  God's  love  to 
him,  lie  went  on  repeating  the  word  "  wonderful" 
for  ahout  the  space  of  a  minute.  He  attempted 
to  say  something  more.  Dr.  Madden  thinks  he 
caught  the  word  "j^eace;"  but  he  could  not  be 
sure,  as  the  voice  was  so  feeble.  lie  never  spoke 
again  !  Thus,  with  his  latest  breath,  he  testified, 
in  the  most  solemn  and  emphatic  manner,  to  the 
wonderful  work  which  the  power  of  divine  grace 
had  wrought  upon  him.  I  know  of  no  dying 
•words  that  could  have  been  more  appropriate  or 
more  impressive. 

He  passed  the  night  in  great  tranquillity :  he 
slept  almost  without  interruption.  Early  on 
Thursday  morning  warm  cloths  were  applied  to 
his  limbs;  but  it  would  appear  he  was  himself 
conscious  that  the  coldness  of  death  was  creep- 
ing over  him.  Of  his  own  accord  he  turned 
round  from  the  side  on  which  he  had  been  lying, 
and,  placing  himself  flat  on  his  back,  he  first 
stretched  out  his  limbs,  he  then  closed  his  own 
eyes,  and  compressed  his  mouth,  and  folded  his 
left  hand  across  his  breast.  The  right  hand  he 
placed  just  outside  the  bedclothes,  as  if  for  a  part- 
ing shake  with  those  around  him;  and,  in  this 
attitude,  the  last  breath  gently  escaped  from  the 
chest  at  ten  o'clock,  without  one  feature  of  the 
face  being  distorted,  or  one  muscle  of  his  body 
convulsed. 

Dr.  Battersby  had  kindly  been  in  attendance 
from  an  early  hour,  and  remained  until  Dr.  Tct- 
ley's  arrival,  about  half-past  nine  o'clock.     His 


128      FIFTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

presence  at  this  solemn  moment  was  an  unspeak- 
able comfort  to  Mrs.  Howell,  and  painfully  gra- 
tifying to  himself.  He  once  more  prayed  with 
and  for  his  dying  friend,  and  Mrs.  Howell  writes, 
*'  Notwithstanding  the  dimness  of  his  failing 
senses,  I  think  sufficient  consciousness  appeared 
to  render  it  probable  that  he  recognised  the  words 
of  hfe  poured  out  at  his  bedside  by  Dr.  Tetley, 
whom  he  loved  as  a  brother ;"  and  she  adds,  "  I 
feel  assured  that  all  was  peace,  and  hope,  and 
joy  with  him.  It  was  seen  in  the  expression  of 
his  closing  eyes,  and  in  that  calm  and  holy  '  fall- 
ing asleep,'  which  those  who  witnessed  it  never 
can  forget.  Here  is  my  consolation,  nay  my  re- 
joicing. I  have  given  him  back  to  the  Lord, 
blessing  and  praising  His  holy  name,  that  he 
gave  me  such  an  example,  companion,  and  friend, 
though  only  for  so  short  a  time." 

And  now,  my  dear  friend  and  brother,  after 
perusing  this  simple  and  faithful  record  of  the 
closing  scene,  surely  you  will  acknowledge  that 
dear  Howell  in  his  last  moments,  did  give  forth  a 
testimony  which  hath  redounded,  and  will  yet 
redound,  to  the  glory  of  God. 

The  funeral  did  not  take  place  till  the  11th. 
The  delay,  in  some  measure,  arose  from  an  ex- 
pectation that  Mr.  Empson  of  Bath  might  come 
to  Torquay,  and  assist  in  the  last  sad  service; 
and,  as  he  has  acted  the  part  of  an  attached  and 
most  devoted  friend  to  Howell  for  a  long  period, 
Mrs.  Howell  naturally  desired  his  presence  ;  but 


WONDERFUL  COMPOSURE  IN  DEATH,         129 

I  observed  from  the  first  that  she  liad  set  her  heart 
on  that  particular  day,  because  it  was  the  seventh 
anniversary  of  her  first  meeting  with  him,  to 
whom  she  was  mjirried  about  two  years  after- 
wards, and  whose  premature  loss  she  now  so 
justly  and  deeply  mourns. 

He  died  in  a  place  where  he  was  a  stranger, 
and  he  was  attended  to  the  grave  by  persons 
whose  acquaintance  had  been  made  only  within 
the  last  few  weeks  or  months.  But  still  they 
were  his  true  friends, — they  were  loving  brothers 
in  the  Lord, — and  this  must  have  been  a  sweet 
solace  to  the  poor  widow  amidst  the  desolateness 
of  her  situation  and  her  circumstances. 

The  whole  of  this  interesting  case  is  now  be- 
fore you.  I  shall  be  anxious  to  hear  your  candid 
opinion  of  it.  Death-bed  repentances,  in  gene- 
ral, are  not  very  satisfactory.  We  are  naturally 
suspicious  of  them  :  and  all  the  more  so,  as  we 
see  many  instances  of  people  making  great  pro- 
fessions of  amendment  in  the  time  of  sickness, 
who,  with  returning  health,  return  to  the  ways  of 
folly  and  of  sin.  But,  with  regard  to  Howell, 
there  was  such  earnestness  and  ingenuousness 
about  him,  that  a  suspicion  ot  his  sincerity  never 
once  crossed  my  mind.  I  have  since  heard  that 
his  general  character  was  pre-eminently  distin- 
guished by  honesty  and  truthfulness.  For  my- 
self, I  am  constrained  to  say,  that  during  upwards 
of  thirty  years  of  Christian  observation  and  expe- 


130      FIFTH  LETTER  TO  REV.  J.  STEVENSON. 

rience,  I  have  never  met  with  clearer  and  more 
decisive  evidences  of  a  work  of  God's  Spirit  on 
any  of  the  sons  of  men.  And  Dr.  Tetley  tells  me 
he  has  been  present  at  many  deaths,  peaceful  and 
happy  deaths,  but  any  thing  resembling  the  dig- 
nified composure  with  which  Howell  died  he 
never  before  had  witnessed. 

I  consider  it  quite  a  privilege  to  have  made  his 
acquaintance,  and  to  have  enjoyed  his  society, 
even  in  his  dying  hours.  During  one  month  I 
saw  him  almost  daily.  Our  lengthened  inter- 
views, our  interesting  conversations,  are  now  past 
and  gone  ;  but  they  have  left  a  sweet  fragrance 
behind  them, — they  can  never  be  forgotten  while 
my  memory  retains  its  power.  And  I  trust  the 
re(!ollection  of  his  anxious  search  after  truth, — 
his  diligent  and  persevering  use  of  means, — his 
humble  and  teachable  spirit,  notwithstanding  his 
great  literary  and  scientific  attainments, — and  his 
astonishing  progress  heavenwards,  after  he  re- 
ceived grace  to  believe  in  Christ  to  the  saving  of 
his  soul, — may  ever  stimulate  myself  to  "  press 
towards  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,"  (Philip,  iii.  14;)  and 
prompt  me  to  "  give  thanks  unto  the  Father, 
who  hath  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light;  and  who  hath  de- 
livered us  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  who 
hath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  his  dear 
son,"  (Col.  i.  12,  13.) 

The  salvation  of  sinners  is  God's  own  work. 
May  we  not  say,  it  is  his  greatest  work  1     It  is 


THANKS  FOR  GRACE  RECEIVED.  131 

that  in  which  he  will  be  chiefly  glorified  through- 
out the  endless  ages  of  eternity.  Let  us  give  him 
glory  now,  for  what  he  has  graciously  done  in 
plucking  dear  Howell  "  as  a  brand  from  the 
burning."  And  let  us  ever  glorify  him  for  the 
measure  of  grace  he  has  bestowed  upon  our- 
selves !  It  is  altogether  of  his  own  free  and  sav- 
ing grace  that  our  cold  hearts  have  been  warmed 
with  the  love  of  God,  and  with  love  to  each  other, 
and  with  love  to  the  souls  of  our  perishinij  fellow- 
creatures.  May  God  grant  a  continuance  and  an 
increase  of  grace,  that  our  faith  in  Christ  Jesus 
may  be  strengthened,  and  that  our  love  may 
abound  more  and  more ! 

Believe  me  to  "remain. 

Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother 
in  the  bonds  of  the  Gospel, 

D.P. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  TESTIMONIES. 


The  beloved  friend  to  whom  the  foregoing-  let- 
lers  were  addressed  had  an  unhesitating  reliance 
on  the  accuracy  of  all  my  statements  respecting 
Mr.  Howell.  It  would  be  unreasonable,  how- 
ever, to  expect  that  other  persons  to  whom  I  am 
unknown  should  rest  with  the  same  degree  of 
confidence  on  my  solitary  testimony ;  and  yet,  it 
is  highly  desirable  to  inspire  universal  confidence : 
for,  if  any  reader  should  question  the  truth  of  the 
narrative  which  is  presented  to  him  in  these  let- 
ters, he  is  placed  in  a  most  unfavourable  position 
for  receiving;  that  edification  which  is  desiorned 
and  desired  by  the  publication  of  this  little  volume. 
I  feel,  therefore,  a  peculiar  satisfaction  in  being 
able  to  bring  forward  two  very  competent  witness- 
es, whose  declarations  cannot  fail  to  remove  doubts 
and  suspicions  where  they  may  exist,  and  to  es- 
tablish every  one  in  the  conviction  that  Mr.  How- 
ell was  the  subject  of  a  great  and  decided  work 


134  SUPPLEMENTARY  TESTIMONIES. 

of  the  Holy  Spirit  before  he  died  ;  and  that  the 
"  Perfect  peace,"  which  he  enjoyed  and  exempH- 
fied  in  his  dying  days,  was  the  legitimate  result  of 
those  views  of  Scripture  truths,  and  of  that  stead- 
fast faith  in  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  to  which 
through  grace  he  had  attained. 

Mrs.  Howell  is  the  most  important  witness. 
She  was  quite  ignorant  of  my  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Stevenson  about  her  husband,  until  she 
was  a  widow.  But,  so  soon  as  she  did  know  of 
it,  her  desire  to  see  the  letters  was  not  more  strong 
than  it  was  natural.  They  were  accordingly 
written  for :  and  after  she  had  perused  them  she 
sent  me  the  following  note  : — 

Dear  Sir, 

I  return  your  letters, — those  precious  me- 
morials of  my  beloved  husband  ! 

Surely  it  was  a  gracious  thing  that  the  Lord 
should  have  put  it  into  your  mind  to  preserve 
these  memoranda.  They  are  balm  to  me,  and  I 
trust  may  be  conducive  to  the  spiritual  instruc- 
tion and  comfort  of  others. 

I  recognize  the  subjects  of  these  conversations 
which  took  place,  even  when  I  was  absent, — al- 
most to  the  very  words  ;  for  it  was  my  dear  hus- 
band's custom  to  recapitulate  these  conversations 
in  the  evening,  as  I  sat  by  his  bedside  ;  and  often 
with  a  minuteness,  energy,  and  animation,  that 
made  me  weep  for  my  own  inability  to  follow 
him. 

I  must  take  the  liberty  of  adding,  that  the  sim- 


NOTE  FROM  MRS.  HOWELL.  135 

plicity  and  truthfulness  of  your  narrative  are  pe- 
culiarly satisfactory  to  me,  as  being  in  harmony 
with  the  character,  and  with  the  love  of  truth, 
which  distinguished,  in  so  remarkable  a  manner, 
the  dear  saint  whom  it  concerns. 

Continue  to  remember  me  in  your  prayers ;  and 
believe  me, 

With  deep  feelings  of  gratitude, 
Yours, 

Augusta  Howell. 

Beulah,  Saturday  Evening,  Jan.  26,  1844. 

The  other  witness  is  the  physician  who  was  in 
regular  attendance  on  Mr.  Howell. 

With  Dr.  Tetley  I  am  in  habits  of  Christian 
intimacy,  and  it  was  through  him  that  my  ac- 
quaintance with  Howell  first  commenced.  I  often 
longed  to  meet  with  him,  that  we  might  talk  to- 
gether, and  compare  notes  as  to  the  progress  of 
the  good  work  that  was  going  on  in  the  heart  of 
the  dying  man.  But  the  Doctor  was  particular- 
ly busy  about  that  time,  and  often  called  into  the 
country ;  besides,  his  visits  to  Howell  were  al- 
ways in  the  morning ;  mine  were  in  the  after- 
noon. And  thus,  from  one  cause  and  another,  I 
had  seen  Dr.  Tedey  only  once,  and  on  that  occa- 
sion only  for  a  few  minutes,  fi-om  the  evening 
when  he  called,  and  requested  me  to  visit  his  pa- 
tient, until  after  Howell's  death.  His  testimony, 
then,  may  be  received  as  distinct  from  mine,  and 
independent  of  it. 

Even  now  the  Doctor  has  not  read  one  of  my 


130  SUPPLEMENTARY  TESTIMONIES. 

letters  to  Mr.  Stevenson  ;  but,  at  ray  request,  he 
has  committed  to  paper  his  own  observations  and 
impressions  in  regard  to  Mr.  Howell's  state  of 
mind.  And  I  do  think  every  impartial  reader 
must  admit,  that  what  the  Doctor  states  briefly, 
and  in  the  general,  corresponds  exactly  with  what 
I  have  narrated  at  greater  length  and  with  more 
of  detail. 

To  the  Rev.  David  Pitcairn. 

Torre,  Jan.  26,  1844. 

My  dear  Friend, 

In  attempting  to  give  you  an  outline  of 
my  intercourse  with  Mr.  Howell,  I  feel  the  want 
of  memoranda,  which,  had  they  been  made  at  the 
time,  would  have  afforded  many  interesting  indi- 
cations of  his  spiritual  progress.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, I  may  be  enabled  to  give  a  faithful  transcript 
of  the  impression  left  on  my  mind,  desiring  to 
write  in  prayerful  dependence  on  His  help,  who 
can,  even  by  the  feeblest  instrumentality,  accom- 
phsh  "  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will." 

Mr.  Howell  consulted  me  soon  after  his  arrival 
in  Torquay,  in  the  early  part  of  last  year;  and 
from  that  time  till  the  time  of  his  death  we  had 
free  and  frequent  communication  with  each  other. 
He  evidently  possessed  talents  and  acquirements 
of  a  superior  order;  and  I  do  not  remember  to 
have  spent  an  hour  with  him  without  advantage. 
His  information  on  all  subjects  was  profound  and 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  TETLEY.        137 

accurate,  and  his  facility  of  communicating  it  ex- 
traordinary. 

The  subject  of  rehgion  was  soon  introduced, 
and  1  was  delighted  to  find  that  he  took  it  up 
with  much  interest.  He  appeared,  however,  to 
have  studied  this  all-important  and  first  business 
of  life  much  in  the  same  way  as  he  had  studied 
the  sciences,  bringing  religion  to  reason  ;  and 
consequently  his  mind  was  beset  with  difliculties, 
proving  that  the  world  by  wisdom  knows  not  God. 
Still  there  was  about  him  a  straightforward  since- 
rity and  seriousness  which  gave  promise  of  the 
approach  of  a  better  state. 

After  a  few  weeks  he  left  Torquay,  improved 
in  health,  and  fully  expecting  to  renew  his  pro- 
fessional occupations.  I  felt  some  degree  of  dis- 
appointment, as  we  had  never  got  beyond  a 
certain  point ;  and  he  appeared  to  guard  so  cau- 
tiously against  every  attempt  to  draw  the  afi'ec- 
tions  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  powers  of  the 
understanding,  into  exercise,  in  contemplating 
*'  the  Gospel  of  the  glory  of  the  blessed  God." 
•  In  a  short  time  he  returned  to  Torre.  His 
health  was  much  broken,  and  every  hope  of  re- 
suming the  practice  of  his  profession  altogether 
abandoned.  He  had  a  correct  estimate  of  his 
state  and  prospects,  and  sometimes  spoke  of 
death  as  not  far  distant.  There  was  now  a 
humble  spirit,  and  a  growing  desire  to  appre- 
hend the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  He  felt  that  if 
there  was  any  thing  valuable  in  religion,  it  was 
samething  beyond  what  he  had  as  yet  attained : 
12* 


138  SUPPLEMENTARY  TESTIMONIES. 

and,  in  the  spirit  of  one  conscious  of  ig-norance 
and  insufficiency,  he  now  sought  Jirst  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  his  righteousness,  exhibiting 
the  disposition  of  a  httle  child,  without  which 
there  is  no  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 
He  continued  to  study  rehgion  as  he  had  studied 
the  various  sciences,  in  which  he  had  made  such 
remarkable  proficiency ;  but  every  effort  of  the 
understanding,  and  every  obstacle  to  the  recep- 
tion of  its  sacred  truths,  were  now  lost  in  the  all- 
absorbing  desire  to  know  what  he  must  do  to  be 
saved.  He  began  to  feel  the  importance  of 
prayer,  and  frequently  asked  me  to  join  him  in 
seeking  mercy.  At  length  his  earnest  longing 
for  rest  in  Christ  could  only  be  described  in  the 
words  of  our  Saviour's  command,  "  Agonise  to 
enter  into  the  strait  gate."  And  his  deepen- 
ing humility  and  growing  earnestness  gave  no 
uncertain  indication  that  the  darkness  would 
soon  pass  away,  and  the  Son  of  Righteousness 
arise  with  healing  in  his  wings. 

At  this  time  he  had  frequent  interviews  with 
Mr.  Blackmore,  and  often  mentioned  most  grate- 
fully his  deep  obligation  to  him  for  the  pains  he 
took  in  meeting  his  difficulties,  and  instructing 
his  ignorance.  Soon  afterwards  he  removed  to 
Beulah  House,  and  his  loss  of  strength  became 
daily  more  apparent.  I  was  sitting  by  his  bed- 
side one  evening,  endeavouring  to  set  before  him 
the  suitableness  and  sufficiency  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ ;  and  with  the  view  of  encouraging  him 
to  cast   his  burden  altogether   on  the   Lord,   I 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  TETLEY.        139 

mentioned  your  experience  in  a  time  of  severe 
illness  ;  when,  unable  even  to  retain  a  few  words 
of  Scripture  in  the  mind  for  a  moment,  you  were 
kept  in  perfect  peace,  because  you  feJt  you  were 
on  "  the  Rock.''''  On  hearing  this,  he  clasped 
his  emaciated  hands,  and,  lifting  up  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  exclaimed,  "  God  grant  that  this  may  be 
my  lot !"  I  went  from  his  room  to  yours,  and 
asked  your  prayerful  interest  and  assistance. 
Like  Peter  going  to  Cornelius,  you  did  well  that 
you  went  without  delay  ;  for  he  was  prepared  to 
hear  all  things  that  were  commanded  you  of 
God.  The  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  appeared 
to  attend  your  message  from  your  first  interview. 
Peace  and  joy  in  believing  took  possession  of  his 
soul,  and  with  only  occasional  interruptions,  con- 
tinued and  mcreased  to  the  last. 

I  remember  he  told  me  that  Mrs.  Howell  had 
sent  for  you  one  evening  in  consequence  of  his 
being  for  a  time  in  a  state  of  almost  "  black  des- 
pair ;"  as  if  the  enemy  here  determined  to  do  his 
worst,  knowing  that  his  time  was  short.  I  saw 
him  early  the  following  morning.  The  tempta- 
tion had  passed  away,  and  tranquillity  was  fully 
restored. 

His  disease  now  made  rapid  progress,  and  he 
was  conscious  that  the  closing  scene  could  not 
be  far  distant,  although  with  a  characteristic 
fluctuation  of  feeling  he  occasionally  spoke  of 
rallying  again.  But  the  peace  of  God  rose  supe- 
rior to  every  other  feeling  of  nature ;  and,  while 


140  SUPPLEMENTARY  TESTIMONIES. 

he  could  only  refer  to  himself  with  distrust  and 
dissatisfaction,  he  spoke  of  the  Saviour  with  evi- 
dent delight,  and  was  ever  ready  to  hear  of  his 
character  and  work.  Thus  did  he  "  look  to 
Him  and  was  lightened,  and  his  face  was  not 
ashamed." 

At  length  the  appointed  hour  of  departure  ar- 
rived, and  it  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten. 
He  knew  that  he  was  dying,  and  had  deliberate- 
ly laid  himself  on  his  back,  and  carefully  adjust- 
ed the  bed-clothes.  Every  feature  spoke  compo- 
sure, and  every  limb  repose.  Thus  did  this 
child  of  God  fall  asleep,  resting  securely  on  the 
bosom  of  everlasting  Love,  without  a  struggle,  a 
sigh,,  or  a  groan.  We  knelt  around  his  bed, 
and  committed  his  passing  spirit  to  "  the  Shep- 
herd of  Israel,"  who  had  already  given  such 
cheering  evidence  of  his  saving  power  and  gra- 
cious presence.  Nothing  I  ever  witnessed  has 
made  me  more  sensible  of  the  completeness  of 
the  salvation  of  Christ.  The  suffering  and  worn- 
out  body  was  now  at  rest;  and  the  calm,  con- 
templative countenance  and  attitude  of  repose 
reminded  rae  of  Dr.  Watts'  beautiful  lines  : — 

*'  By  strict  experience  I  have  known 

Thy  sovereign  power  to  save ; 
At  thy  command  I  venture  down 

Securely  to  the  grave.' 

**  Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."     Nothing  could 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  TETLE^.  141 

be  plainer  than  that  in  this  case  death  was  a  con- 
quered enemy.  But  who  conquered  him  ?  Cer- 
tainly not  that  wreck  of  his  iormer  self  who  lay 
before  us.  Mind  and  memory  had  fled ;  and 
had  there  been  no  "  stronger  man"  there,  the 
departino:  spirit  would  have  been  an  easy  prey  to 
the  adversary,  who  had  already  ^iven  an  earnest 
of  what  he  would  do,  if  permitted  to  take  his 
own  unrestrained  course.  But  He  was  there  of 
whom  it  is  written,  "  Forasmuch,  then,  as  the 
children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood.  He 
also,  himself,  likewise  took  part  of  the  same  ; 
that  through  death  He  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil ;  and 
deliver  them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were  all 
their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  Thus  was 
the  enemy  of  souls  defeated  with  his  own  wea- 
pon— death ;  and  the  happy  spirit  entered  into 
the  presence  of  that  friend,  who,  when  on  earth, 
was  so  wont  to  say,  "  It  is  I  ;  be  not  afraid." 
Ever,  my  dear  friend, 

Yours  aff'ectionately, 

James  Tetlet. 

P.  S.  I  find  I  have  omitted  to  mention  two 
circumstances  forming  important  features  m  Mr. 
Howell's  history.  1  never  heard  any  thing  ap- 
proaching to  a  murmur,  from  first  to  last.  And 
I  observed,  after  his  return  to  Torre,  a  growing 
love  for  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.  I  ought  also 
to  have  said  that  he  expressed  the  deepest  obhga- 


142  SUPPLEMENTARY  TESTIMONIES. 

tions  to  you  for  the  kind  interest  you  had  taken 
in  his  spiritual  welfare,  and  spoke  of  a  MS.  you 
had  lent  him,  as  affording  much  relief  and  com- 
fort to  his  agitated  mind. 


CONCLUSION. 


The  word  of  God  declares,  **  It  is  appointed 
unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after  this  the  judg- 
ment," (Heb.  ix.  27.)  Sooner  or  later  this  is  the 
doom  of  every  man  ;  and  surely  it  is  unwise  in 
any  one  to  neglect  preparation  for  that  solemn 
event,  from  which  he  cannot  escape,  and  the 
nearness  or  remoteness  of  which  he  can  neither 
calculate  nor  control. 

To  a  large  class  of  persons,  who  find  their  plea- 
sure exclusively  in  the  business  or  in  the  amuse- 
ments of  this  world,  the  subject  of  death  is  always 
unwelcome,  and  they  adopt  all  expedients  to  ba- 
nish it,  not  only  from  their  conversation,  but  from 
their  thoughts.  This  is  a  common  and  a  fearful 
specimen  of  that  infatuation  and  insensibility 
which  sin  engenders.  To  those  inconsiderate  in- 
dividuals who  thus  shrink  even  from  the  contem- 
plation of  death,  and  who,  nevertheless,  know 
that  some  day  or  other  die  they  must,  there  is  the 
truest  kindness  in  submitting  a  question,  which 


144  CONCLUSION. 

Hannah  More  has  clothed  in  very  forcible  lan- 
guage, "If  you  cannot  face  the  image,  how  will 
you  encounter  the  reality  T'  We  could  wish  an 
answer  to  this  question.  The  image  of  death 
may  be  shunned  and  avoided  ;  but  death  is  a  re- 
ality, and  it  must  be  met.  How  1  and  what  is  to 
follow?     Reader,  pause,  and  consider. 

Mr.  Howell  had  tried  every  way.  For  years 
he  lived  as  entirely  engrossed  with  the  concerns 
of  this  present  world  as  if  he  were  never  to  die. 
He  was  of  a  peculiarly  reflective  habit :  he 
thought  much,  and  his  thoughts  ranged  over  a 
vast  variety  of  objects;  but  he  thought  not  about 
death,  nor  of  that  eternal  world  into  which  death 
is  the  door  of  entrance  ;  although  what  he  was 
daily  witnessing,  as  a  medical  practitioner,  was 
well  fitted  to  force  this  grave  and  important  sub- 
ject on  his  attention.  In  this  respect  he  was  im- 
wise,  notwithstanding  his  high  character  for  what 
passes  among  men  under  the  nanie  of  wisdom. 
But  the  loss  of  health  reminded  him  of  his  folly, 
and  the  progress  of  disease  warned  him  of  the 
approach  of  death.  In  these  circumstances  he 
acted  like  a.  wise  man.  Finding  that  he  could 
not  face  the  image  of  this  terrible  enemy  without 
having  all  his  fears  awakened,  he  felt  it  was  full 
time  to  consider  in  what  way  he  should  be  able, 
without  fear,  to  encounter  the  reality.  He  ceased 
to  shut  his  eyes  on  the  danger  of  his  situation, 
and  now  he  applied  himself  with  all  diligence  to 
seek  for  the  removal  of  sin  which  gives  to  death 
its  condemning   sting.     He  sought  relief  in  the 


CONCLUSION.  145 

Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God ;  and  in  the  ftiith  of 
Him  "  who  liatli  abohslied  death,"  the  terrors  of 
conscious  giiik  were  subdued  ; — in  tlie  faith  of 
Him  who  is  "  the  resurrection  and  the  Hfe,"  his 
liopes  of  immortahty  became  bright.  TIjus,  as 
his  appointed  time  drew  near,  he  could  think  of 
death  without  dismay, — lie  could  talk  of  death 
with  cahii  dehght:  and  at  last,  in  the  hour  of  dis- 
solution, lie  neither  shrunk  from  the  contest,  nor 
dreaded  the  consequences  ;  but,  witli  the  most  as- 
tonishing moral  courage,  he  arranged  the  very 
posture  of  his  own  body;  and  when  the  spirit  fled, 
the  lifeless  countenance  still  retained  the  expres- 
sion of  that  heavenly  peace  and  placidity  which 
death  itself  had  not  disturbed.  Who  can  read  of 
his  unruffled  composure,  and  of  his  perfect  peace, 
without  the  secret  prayer,  or  the  expressed  desire, 
*'  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 
my  last  end  be  like  his  !" 

Ignorant  as  we  are  of  the  plans  and  purposes 
of  God,  it  appears  to  us  a  dark  and  unaccount- 
able dispensation  that  a  man  like  Mr.  Howell 
should  be  taken  out  of  the  world  just  at  the  time 
when  he  had  become  most  fitted  for  usefulness 
amongst  his  fellow-creatures,  and  when  he  had 
been  prepared  and  disposed  for  dedicating  all  his 
talents,  and  all  his  attainments,  to  the  advance- 
xment  of  the  glory  of  God.  We  have,  indeed, 
many  philosophers  and  men  of  science  ;  but  we 
have  few  Christian  philosophers:  we  have  ^ew 
examples  of  eminence  in  human  knowledge  com- 
13 


146 


CONCLUSION. 


billed  with  devotedness  to  the  service  of  God. 
We  have  not  many  men  of  distinguished  ahility 
and  learning,  who  consider  "  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  God,  as  it  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  as  the  summit  of  all  knowledge.  We 
have  not  many,  excepting  among  professed  theo- 
logians, who  examine  the  word  of  God  with  that 
minute  and  intense  application  which  they  give 
to  the  works  of  God,  and  who  study  the  character 
of  God  the  Saviour  with  a  deeper  and  holier  in- 
terest than  that  wherewith  they  contemplate  the 
wondrous  attributes  of  the  great  Creator. 

After  his  mind  had  been  enlightened  in  the 
knowledge  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
Mr.  Howell  himself  remarked,  that  "  he  felt  as 
if  he  were  only  beginning  to  live."  This  ^vas  a 
memorable  saying ;  and  its  meaning  is  definite 
and  intelhgible.  He  felt  that  his  past  life  had 
been  misspent — he  felt,  that  now  he  was  in  pos- 
session of  new  principles  of  action ;  and  that  in 
prosecuting  even  the  same  pursuits  as  formerly, 
he  would  be  influenced  by  new  motives.  And 
had  he  been  permitted  to  resume  his  elaborate 
researches  into  the  numerous  departments  of  na- 
tural science,  and  to  transfuse  into  all  of  them 
the  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  he  might  have 
shone  before  men  as  a  Christian  philosopher  with 
a  bright  and  attracting  lustre,  and,  according  to 
our  judgment,  been  the  honoured  instrument  of 
leading  many  up  "from  nature,  and  from  nature's 
God,"  to  the  still  more  sublime  and  precious,  and 


CONCLUSION.  147 

satisfying  knowledge  of  redemption,  and  of  the 
great  Redeemer. 

But  it  sometimes  happens  in  the  spiritual,  as  it 
does  in  the  natural  world,  that  the  commencement 
and  the  close  of  earthly  existence  are  almost  sim- 
ultaneous. In  the  inscrutable  arrangements  of 
Providence,  it  is  not  unfrequently  the  case  that 
children  are  born  only  to  die.  Their  connexion 
with  this  material  world  has  just  been  recognised, 
when  it  is  again  dissolv  ed.  They  have  scarcely 
breathed  the  breath  of  life,  and  opened  their  eyes 
on  visible  objects,  when  death  terminates  their 
brief  sojourn  in  the  land  of  living  men,  and  hur- 
ries them  into  the  world  of  spirits.  It  need  not, 
therefore,  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  that,  among 
those  who  are  born  again — who  are  born  of  the 
Spirit,  and  become  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus, 
some  should  be  taken  away  in  the  very  infancy 
of  their  spiritual  existence.  No  doubt  it  is  true 
that  most  of  those  who  experience  the  new  birth 
are  spared  to  pass  onwards,  from  being  at  first 
mere  babes  in  Christ,  to  reach  the  vigour  of 
youth,  or  the  prime  of  manhood,  or  the  maturity 
of  old  age;  and,  were  it  not  so,  the  Church  of 
Christ  on  earth  would  become  extinct,  just  as 
the  human  race  would  soon  disappear  were  all 
children  to  die  in  infancy.  But  it  is  possible  that 
the  number  of  those  who  are  removed  from  earth 
to  heaven,  in  the  earlier  stages  of  their  new  and 
better  being,  is  far  larger  than  generally  sup- 
posed or  allowed.  Nothing  like  encouragement 
must  be  held  out  to  postpone  the  great  concerns 


148  CONCLUSION. 

of  salvation  till  a  time  of  sickness  and  danger ; 
nor  dare  we  flatter  any  with  the  assurance  of  a 
death-bed  repentance.  Still  it  is  a  blessed  truth 
that  tlie  mercy  of  God  is  rich  towards  all  who  call 
on  him  with  sincerity  and  earnestness,  even  at 
the  eleventh  hour.  And  it  is  pleasing  to  hope, 
that,  in  the  exercise  of  sovereign  grace,  not  a 
few  who  have  wasted  life  and  health  in  the  neg- 
lect of  the  Saviour  are,  in  their  dying  hours,  con- 
strained to  seek,  and  privileged  to  find,  a  refuge 
from  the  wrath  to  come  in  his  meritorious  right- 
eousness and  all-atoning  blood. 

Let  it  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  number 
is  not  great,  we  may  affirm  with  certainty  that 
there  are,  at  least,  some  who  have  barely  begun 
to  "  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,"  and  to 
behold  with  enlightened  eyes  the  wondrous  truths 
which  his  Gospel  unfolds,  when  death  mars  our 
anticipations  of  delightful  intercourse  and  fel- 
lowship with  them  as  Christian  friends  and 
brethren.  But  when  we  are  called  to  mourn  for 
their  departure  from  the  church  below,  we  ought 
to  rejoice,  on  account  of  their  speedy  admission 
to  the  church  above.  Let  such  be  our  feelings 
in  regard  to  Mr.  Howell.  We  are  not  forbidden 
to  mourn  over  his  removal  from  a  world  where 
we  think  his  sanctified  talents  and  activities  pro- 
mised fair  to  have  been  a  blessing  to  other  pro- 
fessional and  literary  men  ;  but  we  bow  submis- 
sive to  the  will  and  to  the  wisdom  of  God,  who 
is  never  at  a  loss  for  instruments  to  accomplish 
his  own  designs,  and  we  may  rest  assured,  that 


CONCLUSION.  149 

had  the  services  of  Mr.  Howell  been  needed  here, 
tliey  would  have  been  secured.  God  has  called 
liim  hence,  and  for  his  own  sake  we  ought  to 
rejoice  and  give  thanks.  If  his  Christian  pil- 
grimage was  of  short  duration,  it  was  distinctly 
marked  by  divine  guidance,  and  by  divine  sup- 
port. If  the  bud  began  at  length  to  open  which 
had  been  slowly  forming  during  the  several  pre- 
vious months,  its  rapid  expansion  into  a  flower 
of  the  loveliest  hues  and  fragrance  explicitly  be- 
spoke its  heavenly  culture.  In  his  case  there 
was  no  dubiety.  We  could  not  err  in  estimating 
the  origin  and  the  character  of  that  change 
which  his  w^hole  inner  man  underwent.  It  was 
none  other  than  the  Spirit  of  the  living  and  the 
holy  God  who  raised  him  up  from  the  death  of 
trespasses  and  sins  unto  newness  of  life.  No 
other  agency  could  have  effected  such  deep  con- 
viction of  guilt;  such  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  salvation;  such  humble,  holy,  and  loving  re- 
liance on  the  Saviour  of  sinners;  such  patience, 
and  resignation,  and  fortitude  under  bodily  dis- 
tress;  and  such  mellowed  ripeness  for  "the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light."  On  his  ac- 
count it  would  be  wrong  not  to  rejoice.  Even 
the  angels  in  heaven  rejoice  ovef  every  sinner 
who  is  brought  to  repentance,  because  his  deli- 
verance from  sin  and  from  Satan  adds  a  fresh 
jewel  to  the  Redeemer's  crown,  and  opens  up  a 
new  and  everlasting  source  of  glory  to  the  God 
of  all  grace.  Surely  then,  we,  who  are  men 
upon  earth,  ought  with  still  greater  alacrity  and 
13* 


150 


CONCLUSION. 


ardour  to  swell  the  anthem  of  praise  to  redeem- 
ing love,  and  to  rejoice  over  this  our  brother, 
who  was  lost  and  is  found,  who  was  dead  and  is 
alive ;  and  who,  though  so  soon  removed  from 
us,  after  having  "  passed  from  death  unto  life," 
has  only  left  the  imperfections  of  earth  to  enter 
into  the  joys  of  heaven. 

Blessed  be  God  !  cases  of  conversion  are  not 
rare  things.  Under  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
they  are  continual)}^  occurring  in  our  own  coun- 
try and  in  other  lands,  among  all  ranks  and 
conditions  of  people, — chiefly,  however,  among 
the  poorer  classes,' — comparatively  seldom  among 
the  rich  and  the  noble.  And,  beyond  the  circle 
of  his  own  immediate  friends  and  acquaintances, 
no  notice  would  have  been  taken  of  the  case  of 
Mr.  Howell,  had  there  not  appeared  something 
unusual  both  in  his  ovj^n  character,  and  in  the 
gracious  dealings  of  God  with  him. 

It  must  have  struck  every  reader  of  this  little 
volume  that  before  Mr.  Howell  arrived  at  that 
state  of  peace,  in  the  enjoyment  of  which  his 
earthly  existence  so  gloriously  terminated,  he 
had  previously  undergone  a  diligent,  and  anx- 
ious, and  even  distressful  inquiry  after  rest  for 
his  soul.  From  the  beginning  of  August,  when 
he  left  Bath,  up  to  the  latter  end  of  November,  a 
period  of  nearly  four  months,  the  principal  occu- 
pation of  his  acute,  and  thoughtful,  and  logical 
mind,  was  to  discover  in  the  religion  of  Christ 
that  solid  foundation  of  truth  on  which,  as  a  siu' 


CONCLUSION.  151 

fill  and  immortal  creature,  he  might  build  a  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  pardon  and  of  life  everlast- 
ing. Nothing  short  of  certainty  on  a  point  of 
such  momentous  importance  could  satisfy  a  mind 
like  his.  And  as  he  laboured  hard,  and  waited 
long  ere  he  attained  the  object  of  his  fervent  de- 
sire, it  may  prove  useful  to  others  to  examine 
the  causes  in  which  his  mental  anxieties  origin- 
ated, and  the  purposes  of  God  in  permitting 
their  lengthened  continuance. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  it  may  be  observed, 
that  from  the  time  the  physicians  pronounced  a 
hopeless  opinion  of  Mr.  Howell's  disease,  the 
idea  of  dying,  and  of  entering  into  an  untried 
and  never-ending  state  of  existence,  produced  in 
him  great  agitation  and  alarm. 

So  long  as  health  permitted  the  undisturbed 
ardour  of  his  professional  and  literary  pursuits, 
he  found  therein  a  never-failing  source  of  present 
satisfaction :  so  lonoc  as  he  srave  no  thou<i:lit  to 
the  requirements  of  that  holy  and  immutable  law 
of  God  against  which  he  was  a  daily  offender, 
he  had  no  influential  apprehension  of  any  im- 
pending punishment ;  and  so  long  as  he  under- 
valued and  neglected  the  free  grace  of  God,  pro- 
claimed in  the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  from  ignorance 
of  his  own  guilty  and  helpless  condition,  he  did 
not  smart  under  the  lashings  of  an  upbraiding 
conscience.  Like  multitudes  around  him,  he 
was  conversant  only  with  men,  and  with  the 
material  world.     Practically  considered,  his  con- 


153  CONCLUSION. 

dition  resembled  that  of  the  heathen  Ephesians, 
previous  to  then*  reception  of  Christianity,  of 
whom  St.  Paul  writes,  "  At  that  time  ye  were 
without  Christ,  being  aliens  from  the  common- 
wealth of  Israel  and  strangers  from  the  covenants 
of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in 
the  world."  (Eph.  ii.  12.)  But  this  actual  and 
deplorable  destitution  of  spiritual  blessings  was 
not  felt,  and  therefore  caused  no  distress.  The 
calmness  and  serenity  of  mind  which  he  general- 
ly enjoyed  was  not  at  all  of  a  religious  character. 
His  peace  and  self-satisfaction  arose  entirely 
from  spiritual  indifference  ;  and  from  sinful  inat- 
tention to  the  just  claims  of  God  on  the  affections 
and  services  of  his  rational  creatures ;  and  from 
utter  forgetfulness  of  the  great  day  of  reckoning, 
which  cannot  be  evaded.  Out  of  this  false  secu- 
rity he  was  roused  by  the  announcement  that 
disease  had  attacked  tlie  vital  organs  of  his  body. 
He  knew  that  a  death-blow  was  given  to  all  his 
fondly  cherished  schemes  and  projects  for  scien- 
tific discoveries  and  professional  distinction.  A 
sense  of  dano^er  withdrew  his  thoughts  from  an 
exclusive  attention  to  "  the  things  that  are  seen, 
and  temporal ;"  and  he  could  not  contemplate 
"  the  things  that  are  unseen  and  eternal,"  with- 
out terror  and  dismay. 

The  state  of  great  alarm  into  which  Mr.  How- 
ell was  thrown  by  the  near  prospect  of  death  was 
the  precursor  of  a  state  of  pure  peace  and  of  great 
blessedness.  It  was  the  method  which  God,  in 
the  exercise  of  his  sovereign  grace,  was  pleased 


CONCLUSION.  153 

to  employ  with  this  gifted  individual,  to  break  the 
fascinating  spell  with  which  the  study  of  anima- 
ted and  inanimated  nature  had  monopolized  his 
intellectual  powers  ;  and  to  awaken  him  to  a  feel- 
ing of  personal  concern  with  that  spiritual  world 
of  wonders  revealed  to  us  in  the  great  salvation 
which  is  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  But  the  pe- 
culiar structure  of  his  mind  tended  for  a  time  to 
aggravate  his  alarm  :  and  this  is  the  more  deserv- 
ing of  notice,  because  many  persons  of  weaker  in- 
tellect, and  of  inferior  moral  character,  when  in- 
formed of  their  dying  circumstances,  betray  com- 
paratively little  fear  of  death ;  or,  at  all  events, 
they  succeed  in  quieting  their  fears  by  one  expe- 
dient or  another. 

One  reason  for  Mr.  Howell's  extreme  uneasi- 
ness under  deadly  disease  we  shall  find  in  that 
resolute  uprightness,  that  high  conscientiousness, 
that  unswerving  love  of  truth,  which  were  govern- 
ing principles  in  all  his  conduct.  In  ordinary 
cases,  such  high  moral  qualities  act  as  a  quietus 
to  the  natural  conscience  ;  and  might  have  done 
so  with  him  also  had  not  the  Holy  Spirit  made  use 
of  them  as  instruments  for  the  destruction  of  all 
false  peace.  His  love  of  truth  had  a  certain  mea- 
sure of  divine  illumination  to  guide  it.  Thus  he 
did  not  attempt  to  deceive  himself  as  to  his  real 
situation ;  nor  did  he  wish  to  be  deceived  by 
others.  He  was  dying,  and  he  was  not  prepared 
to  die.  This  was  his  honest  conviction.  Not- 
withstanding the  amiability  of  his  dispositions,  and 
his  strict  regard  to  morality,  he  never  sought  a 


154 


CONCLUSION. 


REFUGE  IN  SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.  This  is  a  re- 
markable fact,  and  goes  far  to  explain  the  pecu- 
liar character  of  his  early  convictions,  and  of  his 
subsequent  peace  and  composure.  Long  before 
he  had  any  spiritual  discernment  of  the  holiness 
of  God's  law,  and  of  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of 
sin,  he  never  attempted  to  deny  or  to  extenuate 
his  manifold  short-comings.  He  laid  no  claims 
to  a  piety  which  he  did  not  possess  ;  he  was  in 
nowise  tinctured  with  formalism ;  he  attached  no 
worth  to  the  outward  observance  of  religious  du- 
ties in  which  the  heart  was  not  engaged ;  he 
knew  how  far  removed  he  was  from  moral  per- 
fection. He  was  well  aware  that  he  had  neither 
feared,  nor  loved,  nor  obeyed  God  as  he  ought  to 
have  done  ;  and,  with  all  these  convictions  and 
impressions,  his  conscientiousness,  which  had 
formerly  administered  peace  and  comfort  to  his 
mind  in  his  intercourse  with  mankind,  became  a 
humbling  reprover  to  him,  and  a  ceaseless  tor- 
menter,  when  he  found  that  he  had  to  deal  with 
his  Maker. 

There  was  safety  amidst  this  distress  to  which 
Mr.  Howell  was  subjected.  Had  his  mind  been 
differently  constituted,  unless  proportionately  am- 
ple supplies  of  grace  had  been  vouchsafed,  he 
might  have  been  tempted  to  indulge  a  delusive 
satisfaction  with  the  inoffensiveness  of  his  studies 
and  avocations,  or  with  the  conscious  integrity  of 
his  conduct,  or  with  the  estimation  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  friends  and  associates.  In  this 
snare  multitudes  are  caught  who  gladly  suffer 


CONCLUSION.  155 

themselves  to  be  deluded,  and  who  thus  descend 
to  the  grave  with  a  lie  in  tlieir  rig^ht  hand.  Most 
men  are  prone  to  overvahie  their  own  paltry  and 
imperfect  performances,  and  to  overlook  the  strict 
demands  of  the  divine  law.  But  it  was  otherwise 
with  Mr.  Howell.  He  saw  nothing  in  himself  re- 
sembling that  holiness  which  God  requires  of  all 
who  would  approach  unto  him,  neither  could  he 
rest  contented  with  those  vague  expectations  of 
divine  mercy  and  forbearance,  which  quiet  the 
fears  of  many  dying  sinners.  He  did  think  of 
God  ;  but  he  thought  candidly  of  his  justice  as 
well  as  of  his  mercy ;  of  his  faithfulness  as  well 
as  of  his  forbearance  :  and  such  thoughts  trou- 
bled him,  because  he  felt  that  he  could  not  stand 
the  scrutiny  of  a  just  and  faithful  God.  He  was 
also  necessitated  to  think  of  death,  judgment,  and 
eternity ;  and  in  the  consideration  of  these  sub- 
jects he  was  overwhelmed.  Hence  it  is  obvious 
that  the  honesty  and  candour  which  he  brought 
to  the  examination  of  his  own  state  and  prospects 
operated  very  powerfully  in  causing  and  increas- 
ing his  mental  distress.  But  the  anguish  and 
alarm  under  which  he  suffered  were  amply  com- 
pensated by  his  freedom  from  a  self-righteous  spi- 
rit, which,  in  general,  is  the  greatest  obstacle  to 
the  reception  of  a  gratuitous  salvation  ;  and  by 
his  possession  of  that  humility  and  self-abase- 
ment, which  dispose  a  man  to  look  for  rehef  out 
of  himself. 

Some  persons  may  imagine  that  Mr.  Howell's 


156 


CONCLUSION. 


high  intellectual  faculties  might  have  raised  him 
out  of  the  uneasiness  and  fears,  to  which  the  de- 
licacy of  his  moral  sense  subjected  him.  This, 
however,  is  quite  a  mistake.  On  the  contr.iry, 
the  peculiar  character  of  his  mind  explains  the 
reason  why  he  could  not  shake  off  his  agitatino- 
apprehensions.  We  have  seen  that  he  was  dis- 
tinguished by  an  excessive  inquisitiveness,  by 
profound  reflection,  by  unwavering  truthfulness, 
by  energetic  perseverance,  and  by  great  logical 
acumen.  These  mental  properties,  in  their  united 
activity,  had  often  secured  his  success  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  scientific  subjects.  But,  so  far 
from  facilitating  his  attainment  of  that  good  hope 
for  another  world,  which,  as  a  dying  man,  was 
indispensable  to  his  peace,  they  were  the  very 
cause  of  a  continual  succ.ession  of  difficulties  and 
hinderances;  for,  the  more  he  inquired  into  the 
moral  character  of  God,  and  the  deeper  he  re- 
flected on  the  principles  of  rectitude,  which  must 
regulate  his  moral  government  of  his  creatures, 
the  distance  between  God  and  himself  seemed 
to  increase.  The  more  he  pondered  over  his 
own  diseased  and  dying  condition,  proofs  of  his 
sinfulness  multiplied  upon  him;  and,  the  more  he 
impartially  considered  the  justice  of  God's  threat- 
ened punishment  of  sin,  the  difficulty  of  being 
saved  appeared  the  greater.  The  more  he  tried 
to  grasp  the  immensity  of  an  eternal  existence, 
and  the  more  intensely  he  felt  the  paramount  im- 
portance of  personal  salvation,  the  insignificance 


CONCLUSION.  157 

and  insufficiency  of  all  human  means  of  deliver- 
ance became  painfully  manifest  to  liim. 

But  his  attention  had  been  directed,  even  be- 
fore his  illness,  to  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, — that  only  true  foundation  of  a  sinner's 
hope  towards  God, — the  only  fountain  that  sends 
forth  a  pure  and  endurinjr  blessing  to  the  dis- 
tressed. And  it  is  true  that,  after  his  arrival  at 
Torre,  his  mind  was  often  soothed  when  hearing 
of  the  love  of  God  to  his  guilty  creatures,  in  send- 
ing his  well-beloved  Son  as  their  Saviour.  Yes; 
it  did  soothe  him  to  hear  of  an  atonement  for  hu- 
man transgressions,  whereby  the  justice  of  God  is 
satisfied  ;  and  of  a  p»-rfect  righteousness  wrought 
out  in  their  behalf,  wherein  even  the  chief  of 
sinners  may  find  acceptance  with  God.  These 
wondrous  truths  excited  his  interest  and  his  grati- 
tude; but  still  they  failed  to  yield  him  the  satis- 
faction he  required,  because,  however  vigorously 
he  applied  his  understanding  to  their  compre- 
hension, they  produced  no  moral  influence  upon 
his  affections.  His  heart,  as  he  afterwards  con- 
fessed, remained  untouched.  His  natural  incre- 
dulity and  demand  for  proof  was  a  barrier  in  the 
way  of  his  realising  the  love  of  G(k1  so  marvel- 
lously exhibited.  He  did  not  feel  himself  to  be 
the  object  of  this  love.  He  could  not  appropri- 
ate the  atoning  sacrifice  and  meritorious  right- 
eousness of  Christ  as  the  ground  of  his  own  jus- 
tification. He  qould  not  believe  in  Christ  as  a 
Saviour  to  himself.  Thus,  at  that  initiatory  pe- 
riod of  his  spiritual  history,  because  of  his  ina- 
14 


158  CONCLUSION. 

bility  to  believe  it,  that  Gospel  which  is  the  power 
of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation, 
was  nothing  better  in  his  experience  than  a 
pleasing  but  profitless  speculation.  His  heart 
was  not  yet  opened  to  receive  it.  It  did  not  pa- 
cify his  conscience — it  gave  him  no  assurance  of 
being  forgiven — it  did  not  secure  him  of  admission 
into  a  world  of  happiness  and  life,  when  he 
should  leave  this  world  of  sin  and  death.  He 
saw  that  other  people  with  whom  he  had  inter- 
course did  believe  this  Gospel,  and  that  they  had 
"joy  and  peace  in  beheving."  But  this  rather 
augmented  than  diminished  the  uneasiness  with 
which  he  was  oppressed ;  and  thus  the  fruitless 
efforts  of  his  own  extraordinary  intellect  were 
well  calculated  to  teach  himself  a  most  instruct- 
ive lesson,  which,  it  is  to  be  hoped  may  not  be  lost 
on  others.  For,  whether  he  fixed  his  attention 
on  the  want  of  righteousness  in  himself,  or  on  the 
all-perfect  righteousness  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus, 
as  the  sinner's  surety,  instead  of  obtaining  the 
satisfaction  which  he  so  eagerly  and  so  honestly 
desired,  he  suffered  a  greater  degree  of  mental 
disquietude  than  is  usual  with  other  inquirers, 
whose  conscientiousness  is  less  active,  or  who 
think  less  profoundly,  or  whose  reason  yields 
more  easily  to  argument. 

We  know  there  are  people  in  the  world  whose 
mental  obtuseness  is  so  decided,  or  whose  moral 
sensibihty  is  so  deficient,  that  the  prospect  of  death 
neither  intimidates  nor  appals  them.     Certainly 


CONCLUSION.  159 

Mr.  Howell  did  not  belong  to  that  pitiable  class 
of  human  beings.  But,  although  it  has  been 
shown  that  the  peculiar  construction  of  his  noble 
mind  increased,  and  could  not  remove  the  alarm 
into  which  the  knowledge  of  his  dangerous  situ- 
ation had  thrown  him,  yet  we  ought  to  believe 
it  was  the  grace  of  God  that  awakened  him  to 
that  sense  of  his  sinfulness  whicli  made  the  thought 
of  death  so  terrible.  Thus  his  alarm,  however 
trying  and  painful,  was  the  commencement  of 
blessing  to  his  soul;  and,  no  doubt,  had  it  pleas- 
ed God  to  bestow  it,  a  larger  measure  of  grace 
at  first  would  not  only  have  convinced  him  of  hia 
sins,  and  of  the  danger  to  which  they  exposed 
him,  but  speedily  conducted  him  to  that  know- 
ledge, and  faith,  and  love  of  the  Saviour,  which 
is  the  peaceful  haven  of  safety  for  tempest-tossed 
and  afflicted  sinners.  That  haven  he  was  des- 
tined to  reach  ;  and  there,  at  length,  when  he 
had  escaped  from  the  inward  storm,  he  did  enjoy 
"  a  great  calm."  But  the  purposes  of  God,  in 
reference  to  this  talented  and  interesting  man, 
while  they  were  fraught  with  the  richest  mercies 
for  time  and  for  eternity,  were  slowly  developed,  as 
if  with  the  avowed  design  of  setting  forth  in  a  con- 
spicuous way  the  foolishness  of  human  wisdom, 
and  the  impotency  of  even  the  highest  intellectual 
powers,  to  silence  the  condemning  voice  of  a 
guilty  conscience,  or  to  irradiate  the  gloom  of 
death  with  the  gladdening  hope  of  a  new,  and  a 
better,  and  an  endless  life. 

It  was  good  for  Mr.  Howell  himself  to  learn 


160 


CONCLUSION. 


how  little  his  own  unaided  abilities  and  accom- 
plishments coidd  forward  or  secure  his  everlasting 
salvation.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  know 
experimentally  that  "the  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them, 
because  they  are  spiritually  discerned,"  (1  Cor. 
ii.  14.)  This  humbling  lesson  prepared  the  way 
for  another  still  more  humbling-  to  the  proud 
heart  of  an  unrenewed  man.  But  let  us  mark 
how  wise  it  was  in  God  to  teach  him,  in  the 
nianner  best  suited  to  his  natural  genius,  and  to 
his  studious  habits,  those  doctrines  of  salvation 
by  free  and  unmerited  grace,  which  are  the  very 
glory  of  the  Gospel  dispensation.  He  was  left 
for  a  time — for  a  long  time,  to  exercise  his 
inquisitiveness,  his  reflectiveness,  his  patient  rea- 
soning, his  persevering  research,  on  the  all- 
important  topic  of  how  a  sinner  is  to  be  pardoned 
and  reconciled  unto  God  consistently  with  his 
holiness  and  justice,  and  how  he  himself  might 
be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  the  fear  of  death. 
During  all  this^  time  of  inquiry  he  was  diligently 
using  the  proper  means  of  grace.  But  his 
prayers  were  not  answered  as  he  expected;  and 
his  Scripture  readings  and  religious  conversations 
did  not  bring  him  the  relief  he  needed.  Still, 
though  he  might  be  unconscious  of  it,  a  great 
work  was  going  on.  He  was  growing  in  humil- 
ity, in  teachableness,  in  earnestness,  and  in 
dependence  upon  God.  This  was  the  training  to 
which  he  was  so  wisely  subjected,  and  now  the 
14* 


CONCLUSION.  161 

abundance  of  grace  was  vouclisafed  unto  him. 
He  no  longer  had  to  complain  that  his  heart 
remained  untouched.  The  fire  of  divine  love 
had  touched  it ;  and  its  blindness  was  enlightened, 
its  obduracy  was  softened,  its  emnity  was  sub- 
dued. The  pride  of  intellect  was  cast  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross  of  Christ.  The  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  brought  him  at  once  to  understand,  and 
appreciate,  and  believe  those  doctrines  of  the 
cross  which  gave  to  his  mind  that  rest,  and 
satisfaction,  and  comfort,  for  which,  in  the 
strength  of  his  own  intellectual  faculties,  he  had 
laboured  so  long  in  vain.  "  The  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus"  commended  itself  to  his  judgment,  and  to 
his  conscience.  He  received  it  without  hesi- 
tation, and  with  all  thankfulness  ;  and,  as  has 
been  well  illustrated  in  the  Introduction,  it  was 
just  as  natural,  after  he  experienced  spiritual 
illumination,  that  he  should  have  entered  so 
readily  and  so  fully  into  the  enjoyment  of  "  perfect 
peace,"  as  it  was  that,  without  it,  he  should  have 
continued  in  a  state  of  spiritual  darkness  and 
distress.  Such  was  the  constitution,  or  tempera- 
ment of  his  mind,  that  he  had  no  rest  until  the 
Spirit  of  God  discovered  to  him  the  truth  he 
was  in  pursuit  of  to  rest  upon.  But  having  once 
found  the  truth,  he  held  it  fast,  and  in  its  posses- 
sion he  enjoyed  the  fulness  of  its  blessings. 

The  Letters  addressed  to  Mr.  Stevenson 
contain  the  record  only  of  what  may  be  termed 
the  Christian  experience  of  Mr.  Howell.     They 


162  CONCLUSION. 

exhibit  the  commencement,  the  progress,  and  the 
close  of  his  bright  career  as  a  Christian  man;  and 
it  was  inconsistent  with  the  plan  of  The  Bio- 
graphical Sketch  which  is  prefixed  to  the 
Letters  to  do  more  than  briefly  state  the  fact, 
that  he  continued  for  some  months,  after  his 
return  to  Devonshire,  to  suffer  more  or  less  of^ 
mental  agitation  or  anxiety.  It  appeared,  there- 
fore, to  be  essential  to  a  correct  understanding 
of  his  case,  that,  in  winding  up  the  narrative, 
there  should  be  presented  to  the  consideration  of 
the  reader  some  specific  details  of  that  intellectual 
and  spiritual  discipline  which  he  underwent,  be- 
fore he  was  enabled  calmly  to  repose  on  the  bosom 
of  God's  forgiving  love,  and  to  descend  into  the 
corruption  of  the  grave  "in  sure  and  certain  hope 
of  the  resurrection  to  eternal  life,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

And  now  it  is  most  fervently  desired  that  every 
reader,  and  especially  every  man  of  like  mind  and 
similar  pursuits,  may  profit  by  the  lessons  which 
the  experience  of  Mr.  Howell  so  plainly  enforces. 

1.  How  utterly  important  in  the  matter  of 
salvation  are  the  noblest  intellectual  powers,  the 
most  extensive  attainments  in  secular  or  scientific 
pursuits,  the  most  blameless  moral  behaviour,  or 
the  highest  place  in  the  estimation  of  friends  and 
acquaintances  !  These  are  valuable  possessions 
in  respect  of  "the  life  that  now  is  :"  and,  so  far 
as  they  can  enrich,  Mr.  Howell  was  rich  indeed. 
But  in  reference  to  "the  life  which  is  to  come," — 
that  awful  hereafter,  to  the  brink  of  which  disease 


CONCLUSION.  163 

had  brought  him,  he  found  them  to  be  entirely 
worthless  ;  and  so  will  every  one  who,  with  equal 
honesty  and  earnestness,  thinks  of  God,  and  of 
death,  and  of  eternity.  It  is,  indeed,  a  hard  and 
humiliating  lesson ;  but  it  is  needful  to  all  men, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  whether  learned  or  unlearn- 
ed ;  for  there  is  no  safety,  no  peace,  no  hope  for 
any  awakened  sinner,  until  he  feels  and  confesses 
that  in  regard  to  his  deliverance  from  guilt  and 
its  consequences,  "it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth, 
nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth 
mercy,"  (Rom.  ix.  16.) 

2.  And  how  omnipotent  is  that  grace  of  God 
which  brings  to  us  salvation  !  So  soon  as  it  pleas- 
ed God  to  work  effectually  by  his  Spirit  on  the  un- 
derstanding, and  on  the  will,  and  on  the  affections 
of  Mr.  Howell,  a  great  and  happy  change  took 
place.  Every  barrier  was  broken  down;  every 
obstacle  was  removed  ;  every  difficulty  vanished. 
The  way  of  a  sinner's  return  to  God  stood  wide 
open  before  him.  He  saw  that  Christ  himself  was 
the  way;  he  felt  the  Holy  Spirit  was  his  guide; 
and  now  he  was  no  longer  faithless,  but  believing. 
Here  is  another  humbling  lesson  to  man, — he 
must  submit  to  receive  salvation  wholly  as  a  free 
gift.  But,  oh  !  how  thankful  should  a  sinner  be 
to  be  saved  on  any  terms  !  how  thankful  should 
a  sinner  be  that  salvation  is  the  work  of  God! 
Nothing  short  of  that  Almighty  power,  which  at 
first  created  man  in  the  image  of  his  Maker,  can 
renew  what  sin  has  defaced.  Nothing  less  pow- 
erful than  that  omnipotent  word  which  called  the 


164  CONCLUSION. 

material  universe  into  being  can  transform  the 
fallen  sons  of  Adam  into  "new  creatures  in  Christ 
Jesus."  Hence  we  read  that  "the  Gospel  of 
Christ"  is  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation, 
unto  every  one  that  believeth,"  {^Rom.  i.  16.) 
Again,  "  the  preaching  of  the  Cross"  is  "  the 
POWER  OF  God,"  (1  Cor.  i.  18.)  And  in  exact 
harmony  with  these  doctrinal  statements,  St.  Paul 
prays  for  the  Ephesians,  that  they  might  know 

"what     is     THE     EXCEEDING    GREATNESS     OF     HIS 

POWER  to  US-ward  who  believe,  according  to  the 
working  of  HIS  mighty  power,  which  he  wrought 
in  Christ  when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead," 
&c.  (Eph.  i.  18—22.)  Truly  this  is  a  very  re- 
markable and  most  emphatic  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture !  It  sets  before  us  this  wondrous  truth,  that 
every  sinner  who  believes  in  Christ  for  salvation 
has  been  made  to  experience,  not  merely  "  the 
power  of  God,"  nor  yet  "  the  greatness  of  his  pow- 
er," but  "  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power ;  " 
and,  oh  !  how  important  it  is  to  "know"  that  un- 
til we  do  experience  the  omnipotence  of  divine 
grace,  we  never  shall  believe  in  the  Saviour  whom 
God  hath  sent  to  bless  us. 

The  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the 
grand  remedial  scheme  for  man's  moral  and  spirit- 
ual maladies,  is,  "  the  power  of  God."  How  en- 
couraging is  this  !  the  belief  of  it  will  inspire  a 
feeling  of  security.  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can 
be  against  us  1  "  (Rom.  viii.  31.)  But  let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  same  omnipotence  which  has 
provided  the  remedy  must  also  apply  it.     The 


CONCLUSION.  165 

grace  of  God,  which  brings  salvation  to  us,  must 
likewise  work  faith  in  us.  *'  For  by  grace  are  ye 
saved  through  f;»ith  ;  a!jd  that  not  of  yourselves, 
IT  IS  THE  GIFT  OF  GoD ;  uot  of  works,  lest  any 
man  should  boast,"  (Eph.  ii.  8,  9.)  And  then 
"  the  loftiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and 
the  haughtiness  of  men  shall  be  made  low,  and 
THE  Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted,"  (^Isaiah 
ii.  17.) 


APPENDIX. 


ON   THE   HUMAN   NATURE    OF   CHRIST. 

See  page  64. 

The  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  is  a  subject  as 
important  as  it  is  wonderful.  It  is  a  subject  also 
of  great  magnitude  in  a  theological  point  of  view  ; 
but  the  one  point  claiming  further  elucidation  at 
present  is,  not  that  the  Son  of  God  became  man, 
which  might  have  been  accomplished  by  a  direct 
act  of  CREATION,  as  in  the  case  of  Adam ;  but 
that,  by  means  of  generation,  he  connected  him- 
self with  humanity  as  it  exists  since  the  fall, 
while  he  himself  "  knew  no  sin,"  and  "  did  no 
sin."  (2  Cor.  v.  21 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  22.)  It  is  to  this 
that  St.  Paul  refers,  when  he  say^,  "And,  with- 
out controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness." (1  Tim.  iii.  16.)  The  greatness  of  the 
mystery  lies  not  so  much  in  the  manifestation  of 
God,  in  visible  form  as  a  man,  as  in  his  being 
"  manifested  in  the  flesh."  This  expression,  "  the 
flesh,"  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  has  many  various  significations  ',  but, 


168  APPENDIX. 

when  applied  to  human  beings,  it  always  denotes 
a  state  of  physical  or  moral  existence  affected  by 
sin.  "  So  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot 
please  God."  But  here  is  the  mystery. — God 
sent  forth  his  Son  "in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh," 
subject  to  all  the  infirmities  and  distresses  that  are 
incident  to  the  sinful  nature  of  man,  subject  even 
to  death  itself,  and  still  throughout  his  whole 
earthly  existence  he  continued  to  be  "  the  Holy 
One  and  the  Just."  He  took  the  nature  that  had 
sinned,  but  he  himself  was  altogether  "  without 
sin."  These  two  things,  apparently  incompatible, 
the  connexion  of  God's  incarnate  Son  with  us  sin- 
ners, and  his  own  spotless  holiness,  were  abso- 
lutely necessary ;  the  one  to  insure  his  sympathy 
with  us,  and  the  other  to  insure  our  salvation  by 
him.  May  we  not  here  exclaim,  in  the  language 
employed  by  the  apostle  on  another  occasion, 
"O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledsje  of  God  !" 

The  doctrine  of  our  Lord  s  true  humanity  is 
distinctly  acknowledged  in  the  Articles  and  Con- 
fessions of  all  the  Protestant  churches.  The 
statements  of  the  Athanasian  Creed  are  specially 
explicit  on  his  manhood  as  well  as  his  godhead. 
But  our  proofs  must  primarily  be  taken  from 
Scripture. 

The  very  first  intimation  of  a  Saviour  is  re- 
markable. After  the  disobedience  of  Adam  and 
Eve,  their  hope  of  pardon  and  deliverance  from 
the  tempter  was  directed  to  "  The  Seed  of  the 
woman,"  (Gen.  iii.  15.)    The  Great  Deliverer  was 


APPENDIX.  169 

subsequently  promised  as  "  The  Seed  of  Abra- 
ham,'" {Gen.  xxii.  18.)  "  In  thy  seed  shall  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  And  of  this 
promise  St.  Paul  has  given  us  an  inspired  inter- 
pretation :  "  Now  to  Abraham  and  to  his  Seed 
were  the  promises  made.  He  saith  not,  and  to 
seeds,  as  of  many  ;  but  as  of  one,  and  to  thy  Seed, 
which  is  Christ,"  (Gal.  iii.  16.)  In  the  opening 
of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  apostle  speaks 
of  himself  as  "  separated  unto  the  Gospel  of  God," 
— "  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
which  was  made  of  the  Seed  of  David  according 
to  the  flesh,'"  (Rom.  i.  5.)  So  it  had  been  pre- 
dicted by  Isaiah  :  "  And  there  shall  come  forth  a 
rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  shall 
grow  out  of  his  roots,"  (xi.  1.)  And  also  by 
Micha  :  "  And  thou  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though 
thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet 
out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to 
be  Ruler  in  Israel,"  &c.  (v.  2-4.)  With  these 
predictions  the  Jewish  people  were  familiar ;  and 
hence,  when  there  was  a  division  among  them 
concerning  our  Lord,  some  said,  "  Hath  not  the 
Scripture  said,  that  Christ  cometh  of  the  seed 
of  David,  and  out  of  the  town  of  Bethlehem,  where 
David  was?"  (John  vii.  42.)  The  reader  will 
do  well  to  peruse  the  discourse  of  St.  Peter  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  where  particular  reference  is 
made  to  our  Lord's  connexion  with  David,  (Acts 
ii.  25-36.)  In  complete  harmony  with  Old  Tes- 
tament prophecies,  the  commencement  of  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures  is  called,  "  The  book  of 
15 


170  APPENDIX. 

THE  Generation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  Da- 
vid,  the  Son  of  Abraham,^'  (Matt.  i.  1.)  And,  in 
the  same  chapter,  we  read  that  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeared  unto  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying, 
"  Thou  son  of  David,  fear  not  to  take  unto  thee 
Mary  thy  wife  ;  for  that  which  is  conceived  in 
her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  she  shall  bring 
forth  a  Son,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus," 
&c.  This,  too,  is  in  fulfilment  of  prophecy: 
"  Hear  ye  now,  O  house  of  David  ;  is  it  a  small 
thing  for  you  to  weary  men,  but  will  ye  weary 
God  also  ?  Therefore  the  Lord  himself  shall  give 
you  a  sign ;  Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear 
a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel,"  (Is.  vii. 
13,  14.)  "  For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a 
Son  is  given ;  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder  ;  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Fa- 
ther, the  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his 
government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon 
the  throne  of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  &c. 
(Is.  ix.  6,  7.)  Thus  we  read,  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel, 
that  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God,  "  to  a 
virgin  espoused  to  a  man  whose  name  was  Jo- 
seph, of  the  house  of  David  ;  and  the  virgin's 
name  was  Mary."  And  the  angel  said  unto  her, 
"  Behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Jesus. 
He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto 
him  the  throne  of  his  Father  David,"  &c.  (i.  26- 
32.)     Again,  in  the  second  chapter,  it  is  recorded 


APPENDIX.  171 

that  Joseph  went  up  from  Galilee,  out  of  the  city  of 
Nazareth,  into  J  udsdo.,  unto  the  city  of  David,  which 
is  called  Bethlehem,  (because  he  was  of  the  house 
and  lineage  of  David,)  &c.  There  Mary  "  brought 
forth  her  first-born  Son  ;"  and  there  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  announced  the  wondrous  event  to  the  shep- 
herds of  Bethlehem,  "  Behold,  I  bring  you  good  ti- 
dings of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people. 
For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  City  of  David^ 
A  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  All  these 
quotations  from  the  prophets,  and  evangelists,  and 
apostles,  when  grouped  together,  and  arranged  in 
juxtaposition,  present  an  interesting  mass  of  evi- 
dance.  And  their  united  testimony  most  incon- 
trovertibly  establishes  the  fact,  that  our  Almighty 
Saviour  was  "  of  the  seed  of  David  according 
TO  the  Flesh," — that  he  was  a  true  man,  and  a 
man  truly  connected  with  the  existing  race  of 
mankind  : — "the  seed  of  the  woman,"  through  the 
line  of  Abraham  and  of  David. 

It  is  likewise  deserving  of  very  particular  no- 
tice, that,  during  the  brief  period  of  his  intercourse 
with  men  on  earth,  our  Lord  so  very  frequently 
speaks  of  himself  as  "  the  Son  of  Man,"  and  of 
men  as  his  brethren.  By  such  modes  of  ex- 
pression he  evinced  his  anxiety  to  strengthen  our 
belief  in  his  true  humanity,  and  in  his  connexion 
with  ourselves. 

The  apostles  have  been  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  the  use  of  a  similar  style  of  language,  and,  no 
doubt,  for  the  same  object. 

St.  John,  in  the  commencement  of  his  Gospel 


172  APPENDIX. 

history,  first  mentions  the  second  person  in  the 
adorable  Trinity  as  the  Word,  who  was  with 
God  in  the  beginning,  and  who  was  God ;  and 
then,  after  this  unequivocal  assertion  of  his  essen- 
tial divinity,  we  find  it  written,  "  And  the  Word 
was  made  Jiesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  (John  i.  JL4.) 

St.  Peter,  in  his  memorable  discourse  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  to  which  allusion  has  already 
been  made,  has  these  words, — ^^  Jesus  of  Nazar- 
eth, A  MAN  approved  of  God  among  you  by  mira- 
cles, and  wonders,"  &c. ;  "  ye  have  taken,  and 
by  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain  ;"  "  this 
Jesus  hath  God  raised  up  ;"  "  therefore,  let  all  the 
house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath 
made  that  same  Jesus,  whom  ye  have  crucified, 
both  Lord  and  Christ,"  (Acts  ii.  22-36.) 

St.  Paul,  in  the  synagogue  at  Antioch,  goes 
over  much  of  the  same  ground,  in  regard  to  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ;  and 
then  draws  this  practical  conclusion.  "  JBe  it 
known  unto  you,  therefore,  men  and  brethren,  that 
through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,"  &c.  (Acts  xiii.  38.)  And  at 
Athens  he  finished  his  powerful  address  with  these 
words, — "  Because  he  (God)  hath  appointed  a  day 
in  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness 
by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained ;  whereof 
he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he 
hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,"  (Acts  xvii.  31.) 

The  only  other  passage  to  which  it  seems  ne- 
cessary to  refer  is  in  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
— "  For  there  is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  be- 


APPENDIX.  173 

tween  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus;  who 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in 
due  time,"  (ii.  5,  6.) 

In  the  immediately  preceding  verses  the  apostle 
had  spoken  of  our  Saviour  as  God,  ^vho  will  have 
all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth.  Here  he  speaks  of  the  sinner's 
way  of  approach  to  God,  and  of  that  inestimable 
"  ransom,"  through  which  alone  there  is  salvation 
for  any.  And,  therefore,  as  an  encouragement  to 
our  confidence  in  Him,  the  living  Mediator,  who 
interposes  between  a  holy  God  and  his  guilty 
creatures,  is  designated  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus," 
because  it  was  his  humanity  that  enabled  him,  as 
our  substitute,  to  give  himself,  to  shed  his  own  most 
precious  blood,  as  the  ransom-price  of  our  deliver- 
ance. Thus  how  real  and  how  great  is  our  en- 
couragement to  cling  to  the  God-man  Mediator, 
with  loving  and  thankful  hearts !  "  For  verily 
he  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  hut  he 
took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham  ;^'  and,  forasmuch 
as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood, 
he  also  himself  likewise  took  jjart  of  the  same/' 
(Heb.  ii.  14-16.) 

"  The  Man  "  who  is  the  Mediator,  is  substan- 
tially allied  by  a  common  humanity  to  "  the  men  " 
for  whom  he  mediates.  But  the  difference  between 
him  and  us  lie^,  not  only  in  his  being  "  without 
sin,"  but  especially  in  this,  that  he  is  more  than 
man.  In  his  one  person  the  divine  nature  is  mys- 
teriously but  indissolubly  united  with  the  human. 
He  who  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  is  at  the 
15* 


174  APPENDIX. 

the  same  time  "  the  Son  of  the  Highest."  Such  a 
Mediator  is  precisely  what  we  need,  and  what  we 
want;  for  something  within  tells  us  that  he  who 
is  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between  God  and  man 
iTiUst  be  man's  bkother,  as  well  as  God's  fel- 
low ; — that  He  who  is  to  act  the  part  of  our  Re- 
deemer must  be  our  kinsman.  None  else  can 
legally  and  effectually  interfere  to  raise  us  from 
the  low  estate  into  which  we  have  fallen ;  none 
else  can  procure  our  discharge  from  the  debts  we 
have  incurred  by  transgression  against  God  ;  none 
else  has  right  or  authority  to  put  us  in  ()ossession 
of  our  forfeited  inheritance ;  and  hence  the  vast 
importance  of  distinctly  understanding  the  pecu- 
liar constitution  of  the  Saviour's  person,  in  order 
to  a  firm  reliance  on  his  work.  Unless  we  be- 
lieve that  in  his  one  person  he  was,  and  is,  and 
ever  shall  be,  both  God  and  man,  we  cannot  con- 
sistently and  confidently  trust  in  him,  either  as  our 
Surety  or  as  our  Saviour.  To  effect  our  salva- 
tion it  w^as  needful  that  he  should  act  in  each  of 
these  capacities :  but,  were  he  not  possessed  of 
THE  HUMAN  NATURE,  he  could  not  be  our  surety  ; 
and,  were  he  not  possessed  of  the  divine  nature, 
he  could  not  be  a  Saviour  at  all.  Thus  the  im- 
portance of  clear  and  spiritual  views  on  this  sub- 
ject can  scarcely  be  overrated. 

Many  Christians  practically  lose  sight  and  hold 
of  the  Saviour's  true  humanity,  although  they 
doctrinaJly  acknowledge  it.  They  run  into  this 
error  either  from  the  contemplation  of  his  perfect 
holiness,  as  separating  him,  in  nature,   from  us 


APPENDIX.  175 

who  are  so  sinful ;  or  from  an  exclusive  attention 
to  his  divinity,  in  which  they  conceive  his  power 
to  save  must  altogether  lie.  But  it  is  most  desir- 
able that  this  practical  error  should  be  prevented 
or  removed,  as  its  existence  cannot  fail  to  inter- 
fere with  the  stability  of  a  Christian's  faith,  and 
with  his  enjoyment  of  the  privileges  and  consola. 
tions  of  the  Gospel. 


